Hogwarts High
by Siriusly Amused
Summary: COMPLETE WITH EPILOGUE! Hogwarts High is a normal high school. The HP kids have no magic. This is a story about normal kids attending a high school with a weird name.
1. First Day

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
By Serendipity

**Author's Note:** This was supposed to be my "I'm back in school, blah" fic, but seeing as I have been back in school for five and a half months...well, I can't really call it back to school anymore can I? Anywho, this story is basically taking the HP characters and making them normal. Hogwarts is a high school located in southern California. I picture them sort of in a place like LA, you put them wherever you want. Yeah, I made them Americans because I have no clue as to what British schools are like, and my story would be even more wacked up if I tried writing them as attending a British school. So here's the thing, they're normal kids (as in no magic) and their Americans, ok? 

**Pairings:** Harry/Ginny/Draco (I'll let you guys decide who Ginny ends up with), Ron/Hermione, Seamus/Lavender, Dean/Parvatti, Neville/Um...he doesn't have one right now, but I might give him one later out of pity. 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own a thing, JK Rowling owns it all. This is just for entertainment. 

**Chapter One**

_Back To School_

**°°°Harry°°°**

"Get up, you!" 

I curled up into a tight ball, trying to keep warm despite the cold draft that was drifting in from the broken window. I felt around for my covers, but seeing as Aunt Petunia had so graciously yanked them off of my bed, I searched all in vain. 

"Come on you lazy little brat!" my aunt, who resembles a horse so much that I can probably sell her to Ron's brother Charlie, who breeds horses, and get away with it, yelled a short distance away from my ear. 

"I want breakfast made in fifteen minutes!" 

You know, it's also remarkable how much my aunt sounds like a horse as well. Maybe if I offer her a carrot she'll shut up? 

"GET UP NOW!" 

THUD! My aunt, who is normally quite weak and feeble, some how managed to muster up enough strength to lift my mattress, which is quite springy by the way, and send me falling, a bit harder than I would have liked, to the floor. 

"I'm up, I'm up!" I mumbled more to the floor than to my aunt, who looks nothing like the flower she's named after. 

She walked around the bed and kicked me, much harder than I thought imaginable, in the gut before leaving the room with a loud, "Humph!" 

And that's how I started my first day of sophomore year. 

My day improved a great deal as I was standing by the bus stop with a small group of kids from my block. 

A kid named Colin was babbling on about the newest issue of National Geographic, which, he pointed out, had some remarkable pictures of an unknown moss growing on a rock in South America. 

Colin, who only came up to my chin, and that's with his hair spiked and everything, looked around at the rest of us, who were all pretty much ignoring him. He stuttered a bit and began to frantically flip through the pages, trying to find something that would interest us. 

"There's, uh, also some fascinating pictures of ...uh...HORSES!" 

A couple kids snorted at the remark. One even spat out his Sunny D. Colin began to tremble and issue a series of small squeaking noises as he did so. 

"Hey Mouse, let me take a look at those horses!" I called out as an attempt to make the little squirt feel better. 

"My name's Col..." 

"I know what your name is!" I said, trying hard not to roll my eyes. "For now on I'm going to call you Mouse." 

"M-Mouse?" he asked, cautiously making his way over to me and handing me the magazine. 

"Well, would you rather be called Squeaky?" I questioned, flipping through the pictures of horses. 

"Mouse is fine, I guess. What kind of horse are you looking for?" 

"An ugly one!" I replied. 

"Well there's this one...here!" 

Mouse pointed out a full page picture of a skinny roan horse whose coat was extremely dirty and shaggy. 

"Great! Can I have it?" 

Mouse looked dumbstruck for several moments. 

"Well, I don't know," he said testily. "I love the angle that this shot was taken in. Wouldn't you rather have a picture of a topless tribe?" he offered hopefully. 

"No thanks, those pictures scare me. Besides, I've got Playboys at home." 

"You do?" Mouse breathed, his eyes growing so wide they took up half his face. "Listen, you let me have one picture, just one picture, from one of your Playboys and I'll give this to you." 

"Fine!" I said quickly, tearing out the page and pocketing it. 

Puttering down the street at a relatively slow speed was a beat up old station wagon. My ride had come. 

A redheaded senior stuck his head out of the front passenger side window. 

"Harry!" George yelled, as the beat up piece of metal drew nearer. "You're going to have to jump! The brakes won't...brake!" 

I mumbled a quick goodbye to Mouse and ran out into the street. The car was puttering by with it's backdoor open. I threw my book bag in, then hurled myself head first in the car's general direction. 

I must have looked like an idiot, with my legs hanging out of a moving vehicle, but my predicament inside was much greater, for my face had found Ginny's lap. 

"Hello, Ginny," I stuttered, sitting up right and closing the door. 

"Hi," she whispered. 

I noticed that her face was about as red as her hair. I figured mine probably was too. 

Fred and George smiled slyly and Ron rolled his eyes. 

"Sorry we're late," Ron apologized. "Thought you were living with Sirius. So, uh, why aren't you?" 

"Stupid judge won't let me live with an ex-convict." I muttered kicking my book bag. 

Sirius is my Godfather that I just found out that I had about two years ago. See he was in jail for the murder of my parents before that. Then two years ago he escaped and with my help (and the help of my friends) was able to prove that he was innocent by revealing that the true murder, Peter Pettigrew, was still alive. For a few moments it seemed as if my life would be better forever. My parent's death would be avenged and I would leave the Dursley's and go live with Sirius. But unfortunately Peter escaped and went into hiding. And the judge decided to leave me with the Dursley's until he was fully certain that Sirius was harmless, and capable of raising a 15-year-old boy. 

The others shook their heads in disbelief of the judge's stupidity as we pulled into the Hogwarts High parking lot. Fred slowed down considerably and we all jumped out. Ginny fell on top of me and for a few seconds I was lost in her brilliant green eyes and flaming dark red hair. My mother had red hair and green eyes. It was a comforting thought. 

**°°°Ron°°°**

"Wanna cigarette?" 

"No, man, you know we quit two years ago!" 

"Quit? I don't call one or two a day even starting!" 

Fred and George shrugged. They were standing a little ways away form me and the rest of the guys in the boy's bathroom, with their friends Lee Jordan and Billy Beerbomb. No seriously, that's his real name! Lee's cool, a lot like my brothers, a practical joker but basically a good kid. Billy's a whole different story. The cheese slid off of his cracker a long time ago! The only reason my brothers and Lee hang out with him is because his dad can get them into any concert, and he's always good for a laugh. 

The guys and I were just standing around, eating late breakfasts and comparing schedules. I just got done comparing with Neville (we had two, History and Spanish) when Harry turned to me. 

"Probably don't even have to ask," he said smiling. We've had the same classes since Kindergarten. Harry began rambling off his schedule. 

"Health, Geometry, PE with Hagrid, Engl..." 

"Wait!" I interrupted him. "I don't have Health first period! I have History!" 

Harry began to frantically look back and forth between the two schedules. Turns out all of our classes are the same except first and seventh periods, (History and Health). 

"You have Health first period, Potter?" 

A nearby stall door burst open with a loud bang and out stepped Draco Malfoy. The single most annoying person in the school. Even more so than Billy Beerbomb! 

Draco pulled his schedule out of his overpriced, designer clothes and started comparing with ours. Turns out we'll be seeing a lot of the little prick this year. Furious, Malfoy kicked the wall. 

"Careful, Malfoy! You don't want to scoff up the new shoes that your mommy bought you!" I called out, pocketing my own schedule. 

"At least we can afford new shoes, Weasley! Your brothers can't even afford cigarettes!" 

I wanted to jump at him, but Fred and George gave me a warning look. If any of us got caught fighting, we'd be kicked off of the soccer team. 

Luckily, the bell rang. Well actually, our bell is more like a long buzz that sounds like the TV bleeped out a very long swear word, but whatever floats Dumbledore's boat. 

Seamus, Dean, Neville, and I headed off to History, while Harry and Draco trudged off the opposite way to Health. 

It was going to be an interesting year! 

**°°°Hermione°°°**

"Lavender! I don't need you to braid my hair!" 

I was sitting at my desk trying desperately to get my things organized. My pencils were sharpened, my pens uncapped, my highlighters were color coded, and my notebook was slanted at precisely a 45° angle. And yet Lavender insisted on jerking my head back my head to French braid my hair. I gave up and sat still while she worked her magic on my thick mane, all the while wondering where Parvatti was. Usually Lavender saved her hair and make-up tricks for her. 

"Where's Parvatti?" I asked, as Lavender finished my braid and was fumbling around her pencil box for an elastic. 

I heard a great deal of whimpering behind me. 

"Health," Lavender replied between sobs. I rolled my eyes, and turned around in my seat to face her. 

She smiled good-naturedly and picked up her pink glitter pen and began to draw hearts all over her notebook. 

"At least I have Seamus with me," she sighed. 

Then, at that moment, almost as if Lavender had some sort of power that summoned people to her, Seamus walked in. He was closely followed by Dean, Ron, and Neville. 

"Hey, Lav!" Seamus greeted, sitting across from the uncontrollable bag of giggles. 

The others smiled and shook their heads as they sat down. 

Ron plopped down in the desk next to mine. He looked considerable grumpy as he ran a hand through his already spiky hair. 

"What's wrong with you?" I asked. 

"Harry's in Health," he replied melancholy. 

I shook my head. Honestly, those two were as bad as Lavender and Parvatti. 

"And," he added, "Draco Malfoy is in three of my classes and lunch." 

"I'm sorry," I apologized. Draco was a pain in the...well...you know. 

"S'ok," Ron slurred, finally turning toward me to acknowledge my existence. 

A small smile crossed over Ron's face, as his blue eyes skimmed up and down my frame. 

"What?" I asked. I have been getting that response a lot today. I mean, ok, so I did finally decided to straighten my hair and experiment with makeup. And yes maybe I did do a little school shopping. All right, all right, a lot of school shopping. But just because I'm wearing a way over-priced skirt, doesn't mean that peoples' opinions are going to change about me, right? 

"You just look really pretty today, that's all," Ron retorted quickly. Finding the sudden need for distraction, he pulled out a magazine and a candy bar, leaving me to stare dumbstruck at him for several minutes. 

"Alright, you little bags of hormones that are most likely going to drive me insane over the next year," came Mr. Binn's usual start of school greeting. Come to think of it, it's the only greeting he ever gives us. "Now I want all of you who actually want to learn, open your books. Yes books!" he yelled at the bored glares that most of the class was giving him. "You know those things that you hardly ever read!" 

"Hey, I read!" Lavender shouted out, hurt. "Like in second grade, I read that one book. What was it called? Charles Dickens?" She paused thinking it over for a few moments before shaking her head dismissing the question. "Anyway, it was about a whale." 

Ron and I slowly turned our heads toward each other. Our mouths open with disbelief at Lavender's stupidity. Dean and Neville, who were playing poker, snickered under their breaths. Seamus blushed scarlet and sank down in his chair, trying to hide his face with his hands. 

**°°°Harry°°°**

"My foot hurts, can I go to the nurse?" 

I could hardly believe it. Snape had barely even gotten through roll, and already Draco was trying to get out of class. I shook my head; Snape never let anyone out of class. As a matter of fact, he once tried to keep us inside during a fire drill. It was that fact alone that kept me from hitting Malfoy upside the head. 

"Go right ahead, Mr. Malfoy." 

I spat out the pen that I was absentmindedly chewing. How could that happen? Draco looked over his shoulder and smirked at me before taking his books under his arm and strutting out of the classroom. He didn't even bother to fake a limp to make his assessment more believable. 

"Yeah, my foot hurts too. Can I go to the nurse?" I called out, hoping to push Snape's buttons. 

Snape looked up from his desk and sneered at me. 

"Why the devil, Mr. Potter, would I ever care about your foot hurting you?" Snape asked in that cold, icy voice that he has. 

I grabbed my stuff and walked up to his desk, leaning over to look him right in the eye. 

"Because Sirius will be the one who comes to my parent/teacher conferences for now on. 

I saw Snape's pupils grow smaller and beads of sweat break out upon his forehead. Sirius used to bully Snape a bit when they went to school, and Snape was obviously still a bit scared of him. 

"Get out of my sight," he spat, returning to roll call. 

"Gladly," I replied. I was out of the door with in two seconds. 

I dropped my books off at my locker and started toward the nearest bathroom. It was dangerous walking the halls without a pass. I was halfway there when I heard a commotion. There was a female voice and a drawling male voice, which sounded a lot like Draco. Did I even want to know? 

"I'm sorry, Malfoy, I..." 

"No, it's ok, really..." 

... 

"What?" 

"Oh, nothing, my brothers just...well...you're not what I expected you to be." 

"And what did you expect me to be like?" 

"Not like this." 

"Well, maybe you shouldn't always believe what your brothers tell you." 

I heard the sound of Malfoy's over priced shoes walking away as I came around a corner, running into Ginny as I did so. She was the one that Malfoy was being nice to? Oh, that isn't good. Without even thinking, I grabbed a hold of her and dragged her into the nearest room. It was the janitor's closet. Ginny looked at me strangely. I didn't know what to say. 

"Ginny, I..." I paused trying to think of what to say. "What are you doing out of class anyway?" 

"I got lost," she admitted meekly. "Fred and George made this map of the school for me. I should have known that they'd lead me into the boy's locker room for first period. 

I looked at the map that she was holding and sure enough according to Fred and George, Ginny had first period in the boy's locker room, second in the kitchens, third in this janitor's closet... I made a mental note to scold them for being so cruel to their baby sister. You would think that they would have had enough when they directed Ron and I into the girl's locker room last year. 

"Sorry about that Ginny," I said, throwing the useless map over my shoulder. "Listen, I'll walk you to your first class, just promise me that you'll steer clear of Malfoy for now on." 

"He doesn't seem that bad," Ginny explained. "I ran right into him and he wasn't even mad! He even helped me pick up my books!" 

I was silent for a few seconds. 

"He's only nice when he wants something, Ginny," I explained, hoping that the dark closet covered my blush. 

"But I don't have anything," Ginny reasoned, meaning money and other material things. 

"Believe me, you do," I replied trying not to stare at anything other than her face. 

Ginny giggled. Giggling should be made illegal. 

**°°°Draco°°°**

I sauntered down the hallways of Hogwarts High pretending that I was totally oblivious to the stares of longing that girls were throwing my way. Yes, I am gorgeous! And I was particularly happy this fine afternoon. School had gone by just peachy and now I was off to soccer practice. Same team as last year. 

Pothead. 

Weasel. 

Weasel Twins. 

That Dean kid. 

Angelina. 

Katie. 

Alicia. 

And of course...me. The huggable, schnugable, me. 

I threw open the locker room doors dramatically, making sure that no one would miss my entrance. Sure enough the others looked up. Too bad the girls weren't there. They had their own locker room; such a great inconvenience to us. 

The Weasel Twins and Dean went back to what they were doing; however, Pothead and Weasel the third seemed to be angry with me. They were glaring at me much more than usual today. Perhaps I have grown even more gorgeous over the summer and they were jealous. 

"Stay away from my sister, Malfoy," Weasel the third uttered as I opened my locker. 

"What, sorry?" I asked, throwing an innocent look his way. 

"My sister," he repeated. "Stay away from her." 

His sister, his sister? Oh, yes I believe I accepted her into the Draco's Freshmen Playtoys category earlier today. 

"Don't worry, Weasel, I'll be done with her soon." I thought that that would calm him, but it seemed to have an opposite affect... 

**°°°Harry°°°**

I was about ready to punch Draco for that remark, but Ron beat me to it. 

"Damn it, Weasel, you're mucking up my face!" Draco shouted. Ron was gearing up for another blow, but Fred and George grabbed a hold of him. 

"Well now my eyebrows hurt!" Draco whined. "I'm going to the nurse." 

And with that he was gone. Missing soccer practice just because he doesn't want to give us the satisfaction of seeing his cheek swell up from the blow that Ron had just given him. 

Fred and George released Ron, who turned toward me, anger written all over his face. 

"Harry, seduce Ginny!" 

Well there's a sentence one doesn't hear everyday. 

"What?" I asked, thinking that I must have heard him wrong. 

"You heard me!" he exclaimed, and even Fred and George seemed to be backing him up on this. "She likes you, Harry, and you could take care of her better than that!" Ron pointed to the door that Draco had just left. 

"Ron, I..." I didn't know what I wanted that what I was. 

"Listen, Harry, I know that you don't think of her in that way," Ron started. 

Actually, I have been thinking of Ginny "in that way" for the past month. It was one of those crushes that just sneak up on you from out of nowhere and you don't even know why you suddenly like the person. Of course Ron had no clue of this new feeling I had for his sister. If he did know about some of the fantasies that I've had about Ginny, he would have punched me even harder than Draco. 

"...just make her think of you more than Draco," Ron finished. 

"All right, Ron," I replied, trying to suppress a smile. "I'll flirt with her a bit." 

**Author's Note:** Well there it is. They're a bit out of character, but they would be if they grew up here and with out magic...so I guess it's ok then. This is a story that took a year to write. I got the idea last Jan or Feb and I wrote a little and forgot about it. Then I started it up again over the summer. Which is why they're all sophomores, cuz I was one when I started writing this. Plus it works out perfectly. F/G are seniors, the Dream Team sophomores, and Ginny a freshman. Percy's at Harvard, just so you know. 


	2. Dancing in the Office

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Serendipity_

**Author's Note:** Yay! Chapter two done! I really, really like this chapter. It's really funny. Reminds me a lot of my school. Especially Dumbledore, who does some things that my principal has done. I hope you guys like this. Anywho, so far Harry is winning in the big ass battle between him a Draco over who gets Ginny. I don't really blame you guys, I made Draco really arrogant in this fic. 

**Disclaimer:** Don't own them and if I did, I would be happy...and rich. 

Chapter Two

_

Dancing in the Office

_

°°°Harry°°°

The first week of school is always the longest and mine, excluding the first day back, was highly uneventful. I hadn't made any moves for Ginny yet, and Ron was becoming impatient. I just wanted to take my time with Ginny that's all. 

But I wasn't thinking about Ginny this morning. The only thought that crossed my mind was, "My foot hurts!" and it did. Thank God that it was Friday and we didn't have practices on the weekends. 

I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Birds were chirping outside my window and I wondered vaguely why Aunt Petunia didn't rouse me with her usual beating and yelling. I put on a pair of jeans and went downstairs to get a clean shirt from the washer. 

"Harry, would you come in here, please?" 

Aunt Petunia has never talked to me in such a sweet tone. I was scared. 

I entered the kitchen to find Aunt Petunia cooking oatmeal and Uncle Vernon sitting at the table drinking coffee with a man who had black spiked hair and playful blue eyes; Sirius. 

"Sorry about his disheveled appearance," Uncle Vernon apologized, eyeing me with distaste, "Don't know why boys these days find showing their underwear as fashionable." 

Sirius just smiled and ruffled my hair. 

"Well, boys will be boys..." he said. 

Uncle Vernon looked at Sirius strangely. Sirius didn't notice; he was looking at a large bruise on my arm. 

"Where did you get that?" he asked, pointing to the bruise. 

Uncle Vernon glared at me, daring me to tell him. 

"Oh, uh, Ron hammered me with the soccer ball yesterday at practice," I said, as Aunt Petunia handed me one of my better shirts. 

Sirius looked like he wanted to press the question some more, but decided better of it. 

"What brings you here anyway?" I asked, pulling the shirt on over my head. 

Sirius smiled. 

"The judge is allowing me to have you for the weekends," he said nonchalantly. 

Were I not sore, I would have danced a jig. 

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he continued. "Get your stuff." 

And I did. 

°°°Ron°°°

"STUPID...USELESS...THING!" I muttered under my breath as I frantically tried to pry my locker open. You see my locker has an identity crisis; it thinks that it's a secret vault holding treasure instead of my beat-up old locker holding my beat-up old books. Harry was leaning against the locker next to mine. He already had his books. His locker doesn't have an identity crisis. 

"Problems, Ron?" he asked. 

I glared at him. 

"What about you, huh?" I asked as I began my combination again. "I caught Ginny talking to Draco yesterday. What's taking you so long, man?" 

Harry smirked. 

"Well you know," he stated, looking at me devilishly, "I'm looking for the cheapest motel to get her into." 

My locker opened and delivered a powerful blow to Harry's head. I didn't mean for that to happen, but I congratulated my locker none-the-less. 

"Shit, that hurt!" Harry cursed stumbling around the crowded hallway. 

"Careful," I said, "don't want to end up with another scar on your forehead." 

Harry fell off of his bike when we were kids and acquired a lightening bolt scar in the middle of his forehead. It's very light, but it is there. 

"I guess I deserved it," he said, rubbing his nose. "Sorry about what I said about your sister." 

"You damn well better be!" I exclaimed, taking out my huge, enormous, colossal history book along with the newest issue of Motor Trend and a poptart. "Sisters don't have sex lives. And I'll die from traumatization if anyone tells me otherwise." 

Harry smiled vaguely and didn't make eye contact with me. 

"He was a skater boy...She said see you later boy..." 

My attention was turned away from Harry's odd behavior as Fred and George walked by bobbing their heads simultaneously as they sang that Avril Laviguine song. Nutters, both of them. Nutters? When did I start using that word? 

The bell beeped and Harry and I went our separate ways. I walked into the history room and sat down next to Hermione. She was looking pretty again today. I mumbled my usual hello and began my poptart. 

Mr. Binns used a new approach for greeting us today. Instead of yelling at us, he simply walked in and held up a sign that had "SHUT UP!" scrawled upon it. Man's a friggin' genius. We were in the middle of class and I was in the middle of my magazine when Principal Dumbledore walked in with a book balanced on his head. It took Mr. Binns several moments before he realized that Dumbledore was there and shut up. 

"Yes?" he asked our elderly principal. 

"I read in the newspaper this morning that balancing a book on your head improves your posture," Dumbledore replied, looking important. 

"And...?" Mr. Binns coaxed, obviously perturbed. 

"And I've been balancing this book on my head all morning." 

Dumbledore left then, leaving Mr. Binns to stare at the door blankly. We heard him mumble something about retirement before he continued on with the lesson. 

I was debating on whether I should finish my magazine or take my morning nap when Hermione flung a note at me. I could have died with shock. The only notes that Hermione ever writes in class are ones that actually have something to do with the lesson. If the fact that Hermione wrote a note would kill me, then what the note said would have killed my ghost. 

_Meet me in the janitor's closet third period._

I wanted to interrogate Hermione about her note, but the bell beeped and as I was trying to stay on her heels so I could talk to her in geometry I got called to the office. 

"Damn!" I cursed to myself as I watched Hermione disappear from my view. Why would Hermione want me to meet her in the janitor's closet? There was only one thing that students did in the janitor's closet, but could Hermione actually want to...? We didn't even really know each other; we were always around other people and went out in big groups. We probably only had two or three conversations to ourselves. Maybe Hermione was just horny? I laughed out loud at that as I came into the office. 

Our office smells strongly of coffee. I heard Elvis playing faintly in the background and our three elderly secretaries were dancing on their desks with their arms in the air and whispering, "Chick-a-poo, chick-a-poo," over and over again. I cleared my voice. Finally one noticed me. 

She jumped off of her desk (an incredible feat for someone her age) and grabbed a hold of my hands, placing one on her waist and holding the other out in front of us. We tangoed all the way to Dumbledore's office. She released me from her death grip when we got there and moon-walked back to her desk. I have a funny feeling that I'll be repeating this someday in the future therapy that I'll be needing. 

"Ah, just the brother that you wanted," said Dumbledore as I closed the door to his office. Sitting in front of his large desk was Ginny. She had a cut on her forehead that the nurse had already patched up. 

"What happened?" I asked sitting down in the chair next to hers. 

Ginny just sighed and shook her head; she looked annoyed, as if she didn't want to talk about this with any of her brothers. 

"Ginny got into a small fight with another girl," Dumbledore informed me. "We tried looking for your older brothers, figuring that they're the ones in charge of looking after you tykes, but alas," he added, "we are unable to find them." 

"AAAHHHH!" 

George just fell out side of Dumbledore's window behind the desk. Dumbledore didn't even need to turn around. He sat at his desk, looking forward, hands folded, with a smile plastered on his face. 

"Found them!" he announced brightly. Dumbledore turned in his chair and opened his window. I rushed over. George stood with his arms raised, yelling triumphantly. He wasn't wearing a shirt and had the school crest of two H's painted in red on his chest. Looking up I saw Fred and the rest of their chemistry class on the floor above cheering loudly. 

"That's my bro!" Fred yelled, pretending to wipe away tears. 

Dumbledore sighed. 

"I see I have some work to do. You two have some hot chocolate and get things sorted out, and when Ms. Weasley is better you may go to class." 

Dumbledore smiled and patted both of us on our heads before exiting the room. I saw him do a sort of shuffle as the door closed. 

"Hey! What are you two doing in Dumbledore's office anyway?" George asked, leaning in the window. "Ginny, where did you get that cut on your forehead?" 

Neither of us answered. 

"Don't you two give me the silent treatment! I'm the oldest Weasley in this school, and I demand to know..." 

"Mr. Weasley! I'm giving you two minutes to get into this classroom before I call your mother!" Dumbledore bellowed from above us. Rule one to being a Weasley: Never get mom involved. 

George looked startled and started fidgeting. 

"I'll deal with you two later! Anyone who messes with my sister messes with me...and occasionally Fred too." 

"Mr. Weasley!" 

"Coming oh bearded one!" 

And then he was gone. I shook my head and closed the window. Ginny was already helping herself to some hot chocolate. I grabbed one of the complementary suckers on Dumbledore's desk instead. I wasn't good with these brother/sister heart to hearts and didn't know where to begin. 

"So..." that's always a good way to start, "who did you get into a fight with?" 

"Pansy Parkinson," Ginny replied, sipping her chocolate. 

I froze, sucker halfway to my mouth. 

"Sorry, wha?" I asked. 

"Pansy Parkinson!" Ginny seemed annoyed. 

Here's my knowledge of Pansy Parkinson. She has a nice rack, she wears short skirts, she's the bitchiest girl I know, she has a nice rack, she's the closest thing to a girlfriend that Draco Malfoy will ever have, she has a nice rack... 

"What did you do to piss her off?" I asked, hoping that I didn't already know the answer. 

"I don't know!" Ginny sighed. "I just said hi to Draco in the hall and then she started banging my head against my locker." 

I winced, I had hoped that it wasn't that. 

"Ginny I told you not to talk to Draco!" 

"I'll talk to whoever the hell I want to talk to!" 

"Fine!" I said throwing up my hands in defeat. Then I stormed out of Dumbledore's office, mamboed my way through the office, and stormed into geometry fifteen minutes late. 

"Got called to the office," I explained to McGonagall as I took my seat next to Harry. Harry seemed to be having some problems. He was trying to draw a circle with his compass, unfortunately the compass moved and he got a spiral instead. 

"Oh I give up!" he said at last, throwing his compass down upon his desk. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "So what did they need you in the office for?" he asked. 

I was busy getting my homework out to hand in to McGonagall. 

"Ginny got into a fight," I replied. "Dumbledore thought that she'd need moral support and Fred was busy trying to figure out which would hit the ground first: a feather or George." 

"Huh?" 

"Long story about my brothers, but they'll probably have detention after school." 

Harry nodded in agreement. 

"Listen, Harry, Pansy's after Ginny. She knows that Ginny is getting close to Draco." 

Harry nodded again. 

"You have to do something!" I said. 

"Alright, alright!" Harry replied. "Is Ginny coming to Lavender's party tonight?" 

"I could make her," I suggested. 

"Alright, I'll put some moves on her there. We'll work out the details in PE" 

I nodded and started on my new assignment. But then I remembered Hermione's note. Third period. PE was third period. 

"Uh, Harry, you'll have to do that with out me." 

Harry looked up, confused. 

"Why?" 

"Well, I'm going to the janitor's closet." 

Harry smiled slyly. 

"Oh, the janitor's closet! So who's meeting you there? Your imaginary girlfriend?" 

"Hermione." 

Harry's jawed dropped. 

"No way." 

"Yes way." 

"No, there's no way that Hermione would skip a class and go to the janitor's closet, especially with you! No offense." 

I showed him the note. He looked over to Hermione. Hermione smiled at me. I swallowed a huge lump in my throat. 

"This isn't right," he said slowly. 

"Why?" I asked him. 

"Because, you and Hermione are almost always fighting, and I don't know!" he seemed frustrated. 

The bell beeped. 

"Have fun in PE!" I called over my shoulder as Hermione ran out of the room ahead of me. 

"Have fun in the janitor's closet!" Harry shouted back much louder than I would have liked. Seamus overheard and shouted out the same thing. I hoped he didn't tell Lavender, the whole school would know by lunch if he did. 

I dropped my books off at my locker and tried to look casual as I slid into the janitor's closet just as the late bell beeped. She was there. 

"Hermione!" I said with a devilish grin as I leaned in to kiss her. 

She placed her hand over my mouth and smiled. 

"I didn't come here for that," she said softly. 

_'Ron, you're an idiot!_' I said to myself. 

"Oh," is what I really said, plopping down to sit miserably on the floor. Hermione sat across from me. 

"I wanted to talk to you about Ginny," she said. 

"Ginny? When did you two become friends?" 

Hermione looked hurt. 

"Since first grade," she said. "Don't you remember me spending the night at your house? Ginny and I just didn't spend too much time with each other last year because we went to separate schools." 

"Oh, yeah, I remember now," I said. The last time she spent the night, we were about thirteen and she kept grabbing my arm during that one movie...Urban Legends. How could I forget about all those times? I guess we did spend a lot of time together. Only an ass like me would forget it. 

"Listen," she continued, "Ginny is developing a...thing...for Draco." 

"Yeah, I know." 

"You do?" 

"Yeah, don't worry, I've got Harry on the job." 

"On the job?" she asked, confused. 

"Yeah, he's gonna flirt with her a little. Go out with her, keep her mind off of Draco. She's been in love with him for years, he's the only one who can do it." 

"Ron, do you think that this is a good idea?" 

I thought that it was a friggin' brilliant idea. 

"Why wouldn't it be?" I asked. 

"Well, is Harry ok with this? Surely he doesn't want to spend a good long while carting your baby sister around." 

"He agreed right away." 

"Really?" Hermione began smiling like a mad woman. "Aw, that's so sweet!" 

"What, Harry taking care of my sister?" 

"No! Don't you see it, Ron?" 

This is what I saw: I saw a broom, a mop, a bucket, and Hermione. And that's all I saw. 

Hermione grew impatient. 

"Harry has feelings for Ginny!" 

"WHAT?!" I forgot to keep my voice down. Luckily no one was outside. "No he isn't, he's just doing me a favor, that's all." 

"Think about it Ron! Would you agree so willingly to take a girl out just because someone asked you to?" 

"Yes." 

Hermione through her hands up and shook her head. 

The bell beeped. 

°°°Harry°°°

Sirius seemed disappointed at first when I told him that I was going out the first night that I was staying over at his house, but then I told him everything about Ginny and he became excited, giving me some dating tips. 

"Be sure to hold the doors open for her. And always tell her that you love her smile. And, um, here." 

He handed me some condoms. 

"Err..." I stated. Sirius and I talked a lot through out the years but we never actually discussed this topic. He wasn't making eye contact. 

"I'm supposed to tell you to wait until your married and scare you with statistics but that's what school's for," he said rocking back and forth. "I would appreciate it if you would wait, but you know, just in case," he said trailing off. 

"Thanks," I replied, throwing them into my nightstand drawer. "But I'm sure that I won't be needing them for awhile." 

Sirius smiled. 

"So are you ready?" he asked. 

"Yeah," I replied. Lavender had a hot tub and a pool so I was wearing my trunks and a shirt. 

"Alright then," Sirius replied, whipping out the keys to his black convertible. "Let's go!" 

**Another Author's Note:** Be sure to review and tell me what you like and dislike about this story. And cast your votes! 


	3. Get To It Later

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Serendipity_

**Author's Note:** This is the second version of this friggin' chapter. This is a very hard chapter to write. Hopefully, I don't have to write another version. Sorry that it's taking so long but I have to be completely satisfied with my work before I post. I should probably get going on some of my other fics, but this fic is so much fun to write. Oh one more thing, one of my teachers has a gum infection and their cheeks are swollen and they look like a chipmunk. 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or anything else that you may recognize. This goes for celebrities, movies, and songs too. I don't own any of them. The same goes for last chapter too. I forgot to mention it in my disclaimer last chapter. 

Chapter Three

_Get to it later..._

°°°Hermione°°°

"Hermione!" Lavender and Parvatti squealed as they opened the door. It was seven o'clock and I was one of the first guests at Lavender's "We're Back in School Blah" party. They ushered me in, commenting me on my swimsuit and offering me chips and dip. The Brown's rec room is very nice. They have a huge flat screen TV with surround sound, a pool table, and a fully stocked bar. Two seniors were already opperating at the bar. A junior and three sophomores were playing pool and a group of ten or so freshman was clustered around the couch. I recognized a short boy that says hi to Harry a lot tentatively taking a sip of what I assumed was an alcoholic beverage. 

I spent the next ten minutes or so talking to Lavender and Parvatti until a large group of upperclassmen rushed into Lavender's backyard and jumped into her pool. It was actually kind of amusing. 

Many more people started coming and before long I was lost in a sea of teenage bodies. I was beginning to feel claustrophobic. Back in junior high I used to hide out in the bathrooms at parties. When I was eleven I hid in Parvatti's bathroom at her Halloween party for most of the night because Draco Malfoy said that I looked better with my face covered in a horrible mask. The little squirt. I was about to ask Lavender where her bathroom was when Harry showed up. 

He forced me into Lavender's gigantic pool. I didn't want to because I had to take off my shorts and people were staring. I felt self-conscious even though Harry told me that they were staring in a good way. 

We splashed around for a little bit and started talking about school. I asked him how soccer was coming along and he made me promise to come to their first game. Then he brought up Ron. 

"So are you two a couple?" he asked, lazily floating on a beach ball. "Ron didn't say anything about your little rondezvous during PE today." 

"Couple?" I asked, taken off guard. I didn't really think about the consequences when I wrote that note. 

"Friends with benefits?" he suggested, playfully tossing the ball my way. 

"No, it's nothing like that!" I said, though I knew I was blushing. 

"So what did you guys do in there?" 

"Well, we, uh..." 

We talked about your love life, Harry that's what we did. 

"Nevermind, I don't want to know. So do you want to, I mean, with Ron?" he asked, acting all innocent. 

"Ron!?" 

I probably shouldn't have stated it that way. 

"What's wrong with Ron?" Harry looked hurt on his friend's behalf. 

"Well, he's Ron!" I reasoned. "Ok so yeah he's nice, and funny, and he looks really cute with his hair all messed up, and he has deepest, most thoughtful turquoise eyes, and..." 

I stopped, realizing exactly what I was admitting to Harry and to myself. I just did something stupid. Harry was smiling at me devilishly. I needed a stiff drink. Then I realized that I didn't drink. I thought about asking someone to knock me unconscious. 

_'Oh what the hell, I'll just hide in the bathroom!'_

"Please don't tell Ron!" I pleaded, placing my hands on Harry's shoulders. 

"I won't," he said. "That's your job." 

Then he left. 

_'Now, where's that bathroom?'_

°°°Ron°°°

Fred and George were in flip-flops and swimming trunks...and nothing else, though Fred rubbed some sunscreen on his nose. Why? I didn't know because the sun already went down but that's my brother for you. They had the music cranked up and were dancing about in their seats as the station wagon that Fred had deemed "Old Betsy" puttered down Lavender's street. 

"Shit, there's no place to park!" Fred cursed, gripping the steering wheel. 

George stopped bouncing and pondered our predicament for a few moments before waving Fred off saying, "Just park in the front yard." 

In the backseat, Ginny and I slid down, covering our faces. Ginny glanced over at me playfully and I knew what she was thinking because I was thinking the exact same thing. How are we related to those two? 

So Fred parked in the middle of Lavender's front yard and as soon as the engine was turned off the twins jumped out and ran into the backyard, heading toward the pool, exclaiming that the party had arrived. Ginny and I merely got out and stepped away from the vehicle. 

It seemed as if most of the school was already there. Loud music was blaring, people were screaming, a senior was already passed out on the porch, and a large group of freshmen led by that one kid that says hi to Harry a lot were streaking through the yard. I was about to find Harry when I realized that I would have to avoid him tonight if he was going to make a move on Ginny, so I just stood there instead. 

"Aren't you coming?" Ginny asked as she made her way to the backyard. 

"No," I said, feeling rather stupid. "I'm just going to find Hermione." 

Ginny looked at me weird, as if she couldn't understand why on Earth I would want to find Hermione for, and I myself was pondering that same question; however, she merely shrugged and walked away. 

I went inside and a senior offered me something to drink at the bar. I took it and began looking around for Hermione. Where would she be at a party like this? 

"Probably the bathroom," I stated out loud. 

"What?" some kid next to me asked. 

"Nothing," I replied, handing him my drink and going off to find the nearest bathroom. Lavender and Parvatti were standing outside of it. 

"Come on, Hermione," said Lavender. 

"You can't stay in there forever," added Parvatti. 

"Hello ladies," I said coming up to them. 

They looked relieved to see me. 

"Ron, tell Hermione to come out!" Lavender said. 

She unlocked the door from the outside and pushed me in. Hermione was sitting in the bathtub with one of those eye mask thingers on and was tossing a rubber duckie up in the air. She sighed when I came in. 

"I guess you're going to try to make me get out, huh?" she asked. 

"Actually, I have no idea why I'm here," I replied truthfully. 

"What?" she asked confused. 

I sighed. 

"Well, Harry's going to flirt with Ginny a bit so I can't be hanging around him and Seamus and Dean are with the two noisemakers so I'm avoiding them, so I had a choice between you and Neville. I picked you." 

She snorted. 

"I feel so special," she said sarcastically. 

"You should," I replied, sitting up on the basin counter. "So what made you hide out in here anyway?" 

She blushed and looked down. 

"I said something stupid to Harry." 

"You said something stupid?" I asked flabbergasted. "Well there's a first time for everything." 

She smiled appreciatively. 

"You want to leave?" I asked her. "I mean, I could really go for a pizza right about now and Ern's Pizza won't be closing for another three hours." 

"Sure." 

"Great! We'll just have to tell my brothers that I'm leaving then we can go." 

°°°Ginny°°°

I walked around the backyard feeling very out of place. Ron left me and most of my friends weren't here except for Colin, but well, he was currently a bit intoxicated. 

"I'm the king of the world!" he shouted, jumping into the pool with a shower cap on his head...and nothing else. Needless to say that everyone in the pool got out. 

Among those was Harry. He climbed out with a very disgusted look upon his face, his wet hair dripping in his face. He smiled when he saw me. 

"Hi Ginny!" he said, coming over to me. 

"Hi," I said back, hoping that he didn't notice me blush. 

"I would ask you if you wanted to go swim but..." he trailed off, looking over his shoulder to where Colin was splashing about, now joined by Billy Beerbomb. 

I giggled. 

"Poor kid's reputation is ruined," Harry commented. Then he smiled at me. 

"Why don't we go to Ern's Pizza and get something to eat?" he asked. 

My heart skipped a beat. 

"Sure," I replied. 

"Great!" he said. "Hey Fred, George!" 

My brother's were on the roof dropping water balloons on people. 

"Yeah?" they called back. 

"Taking your sister to get some pizza, I'll be bringing her home." 

"Whatever." 

They had just run out of balloons and realized that they didn't know how to get down. 

"Come on," Harry said, taking my hand. 

My hand! He was holding my hand! 

We had to walk to Ern's Pizza since Harry couldn't drive legally yet, but it was only a few blocks down, so it wasn't so bad. We were about to walk in when we saw Ron and Hermione sitting at a table and laughing. 

"Let's not disturb them," Harry said, taking my hand once again. 

"Where are we going?" I asked him. 

"Sirius's," Harry replied. "He can make a better homemade pizza than Ern can." 

°°°Hermione°°°

"Well this is me," I said, stepping up on my front porch, Ron had walked me home. 

He looked up at my house. 

"Yeah, so it is." 

We stood there for about a minute or so not saying anything. 

"Um," I said awkwardly. "My parents are out of town tonight, do you want to come in and watch a movie or something?" 

Ron smiled. 

"Okay." 

°°°Harry°°°

Sirius was driving Ginny home and I came along for the ride. I sat in the back with her and was holding her hand. She had the biggest smile the whole drive over. So did Sirius. 

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley ran a store for water equipment such as surfboards and such, so the Weasley's live in this cool house along the beach. It's one story with a bunch of big widows. I love it there. 

"Bye Ginny," I said, squeezing her hand a bit. 

"Bye," she said, but she didn't get out of the car. 

"Oh, kiss her already, Harry!" Sirius shouted out from the front. 

When we both didn't move, Sirius covered his eyes and said, "Look I'm not even looking!" 

I smiled and touched Ginny's cheek. I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. She looked dazed by it all and slowly got out of the car. 

°°°Ginny°°°

I watched the car drive away, then I walked slowly inside. I seemed to be in a dream. Mom was in the kitchen finishing up the last of the dishes. She turned around. 

"Ginny?" She seemed confused and looked as if she wanted to know where my brothers were when I shouted: 

"Harry kissed me mom!" 

She looked shocked. 

"What? When, where?" she asked. 

And I told her the whole story. 

**Another Author's Note:** Yay! I finally got this chapter done! Sorry it took me so long. Did any of you here that they're cutting out Oliver Wood in the next movie? How can they do that? Are they even going to have a Quidditch match? They have to! Important stuff happens at the Quiditch match! Snitch.com is signing a petition to keep Oliver Wood. Hopefully it works. I just realized that I don't have much of Oliver in this story. I'll try to squeeze him in next chapter. Toodles! 


	4. What Friends are For

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Serendipity_

**Author's Note:** Alright here it is. I haven't been in a writing mood lately, but I was bored today and forced myself to write this. I think I may be getting a plot. Let's hope I don't forget it. I mentioned Wood in this chapter. Can't cut him out of everything. I also have things in Billy Beerbombs POV for awhile. A short while. And Fred's, and Ginny's, and Draco's, and Harry's, and Ron's, and...oh you don't care. I do though. I'm really tired. 

**Disclaimer:** I have a lot to disclaim here. Um, first and foremost I don't own the Harry Potter characters nor do I own anything pertaining to them. I do own Billy Beerbomb though. Any references to the real world, be it brand names or singers, I do not own. Oh and I do not own Dr. Khai, my friend's old childhood pediatrician. 

**Warning:** There are some drug references in this chapter (Billy Beerbomb, the HP characters would never use drugs). There is also some child abuse. This chapter is still humorous and light-hearted in spite of these dark themes. I'm just trying to make this story realistic and every high school has their fair share of druggies and victims of child abuse. Remember my rating (PG-13), you were warned beforehand. 

**Author's Rant:** I WANNA READ OoP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I ALSO WANT TO SEE THE THRID MOVIE!!!!!!!!! REALLY, REALLY BADLY!!!!!!! THEY NEED TO GET TO WORK ON THAT THING!!! STUPID CHILD LABOR LAWS! 

Chapter Four

_What Friends are For_

**°°°Harry°°°**

    Ron's grounded. Turns out that after he and Hermione got finished with their pizza, they went over to Hermione's to watch movies and they sort of fell asleep. Ron returned home at seven thirty in the morning, much to the annoyance of his parents and amusement of his brothers. 

    We had soccer practice that morning. It was horrible because we were all tired (Draco was hung over) and Ron, who only got like two hours of sleep, kind of fell asleep in the middle of the field. Dean tripped over him as he was trying to score a goal. We all thought that it was funny, but Hagrid, our coach, was disgruntled about it. He said that he'd let it slide this time because it was the first party of the year, but if it happened again, we'll be running laps. 

    Ron being grounded ruined my plans to see Ginny. Mrs. Weasley wouldn't believe me when I called Saturday night asking for Ginny. She said it was a ploy to get Ron out. As if I wanted to. He wouldn't have been any fun. He probably fell asleep at six. 

    And to top it all off, Old Betsy is in the shop so I actually had to take the bus to school this morning. Ron and the others weren't on it and I was forced to sit by Mouse. It was amusing enough. He had no recollection of Friday night. 

    When I got to school, I went to my locker and got my books. Then I went to Ron's locker. He was having problems with it again. He was reduced to pounding it with his fists and it still wouldn't budge. Finally he just gave up. 

     "Useless piece of shit," he commented, turning towards me. 

    I smiled sympathetically. 

     "How did you guys get to school this morning?" I asked him as we made our way into the boy's bathroom. 

     "Wood," replied Ron. 

    Oliver Wood lives down the beach from Ron. He graduated two years ago and is kind of friends with the twins. 

    Fred and George were writing the word 'poop' really big on one of the stall doors when we got into the bathroom. They nodded at us before continuing their masterpiece. Lee was writing 'pee' by one of the urinals, and Billy Beerbomb was stoned and was currently fascinated with his hands. He was ignored. 

    I lowered my voice. 

     "Hey, uh, do you think that it'll be alright if I stay at your place tonight?" I asked Ron, rubbing my side. It was the location of my newest bruise. 

    Ron noticed my movement and quickly understood. 

     "Yeah, I'm sure Mom and Dad won't mind," he said, quickly looking away from my rubbing out of courtesy. 

    Fred and George had overheard us and were sending me a worried stare. They looked like they wanted to say something but the bell beeped and we were off to class. 

**°°°Draco°°°**

    I had a smile as big as Texas plastered on my face as I walked into the health room and sat down in front of Potter. 

     "What the hell are you so happy about?" he asked. 

     "Didn't you see it?" I asked him, feeling a bit discouraged at the fact that the whole school may not have seen it. 

     "See what?" he asked. 

    I puffed out my chest importantly. 

     "I broke up with Pansy out on the front lawn. She was so upset that she tried throwing a freshman at me." 

    Potter rolled his eyes. It irked me that not everyone was interested with my love life. But then Potter began to look worried. 

     "Why did you break up with her, Malfoy?" he asked. 

    I smirked. The girl sitting on my right sighed and nearly fainted. 

     "I found someone else," I told Potter. 

    The girl on my left burst into tears. Potter was indifferent to her. 

     "Ginny?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

     "Yes, the Weasel Whore." 

    Potter suddenly stood and grabbed the front of my over-priced shirt. 

     "Never call her that again, Malfoy!" 

    I sighed. Where the hell was Snape? Talking to Potter was giving me a headache. 

     "Besides," continued Potter sitting back down, "she's mine." 

    I laughed. 

     "Officially?" I asked. 

    Potter's eyes widened and he began fidgeting. But then he groaned. 

     "Shit, not him!" he whined, as he looked over my shoulder. 

    I turned around and my high spirits were quickly dampened. 

**°°°Billy Beerbomb°°°**

    Hands are sooo cool! Whoa! There's like a pencil sitting on my desk! 

     "Mr. Beerbomb!" 

    Who's the dude with the beard? Oh my God, he has rainbows in his beard! Why is he looking into my eyes? 

     "His pupils are huge," beardy said to somebody. 

    Look, paper! Why is beardy yelling at me? He's hurting my ears. Except for my ear lobes, they're fine. Beardy is still yelling. Maybe I can calm him. 

     "Whoa dude! Let's just go into the wig wam and smoke the peace pipe, kay?" 

**°°°Fred°°°**

     "George! It's chocolate cake day!" I exclaimed as the lunch line moved up. 

    George's eyes widened. "Good Lord, is it really?" he asked grabbing a hold of my arm. 

     "Yes, look!" I instructed him, while pointing to the coveted chocolate cake. We were jumping up and down from excitement when we reached the lunch lady. She looked at us as if we were idiots. 

**°°°Ginny°°°**

     "Move over, Gin." 

    It was Ron. None of my freshman friends were put in the same lunch as me so my brothers thought that it was their duty to sit by me. It's not so bad I guess. Fred and George are always good for a laugh. Lee joins in sometimes. Ron's funny and nice. And all of Ron's friends sit by us too. Including Harry and Hermione. Hermione keeps me sane at lunch, and Harry...well Harry gives me so many butterflies in my stomach that I have to really concentrate on eating. It's usually not so bad though. Harry normally sits across from Ron or on the other side of Hermione, but today he sat by me. I suddenly lost my appetite. I was thinking about that kiss Friday night. 

    I smiled at Harry and he "accidentally" brushed my hand as he reached for a napkin. I didn't know what to do or say. I looked over at Ron to make sure that he didn't see. He didn't. He was talking with Hermione. I wonder what's up with those two? 

     "That lunch lady acted as if we were insane!" George exclaimed, sitting down across from me. Fred sat next to him. They both had nothing but cake on their plates. 

     "You two are insane," Ron commented, raising an eyebrow at their food choice. 

     "No we're not," chorused the twins. 

     "Yes you are," replied Ron. "Ginny aren't they insane?" 

     "I'm staying out of this." 

    The twins were halfway through their food. 

     "Hey Fred, George, did you two study for that Spanish test?" Harry asked, saving me from choosing between my brothers. 

    The twins looked alarmed. 

     "That's today?" asked George. 

    Harry and Ron nodded. 

    Fred and George are smart. They get mostly A's, except for Spanish. They just don't get the whole foreign language thing. They failed that class three times, and by the scared looks on their faces, they're heading for number four. They looked at the clock. Two minutes before the bell beeped and Spanish was their next class. 

     "We really need a miracle right now," said George. 

     "Fred and George Weasley, please come to the office," came over the intercom. 

    The twins sighed, looked up to the heavens and thanked God. 

**°°°Ron°°°**

    I hate health. Mainly because of Snape. Last week we did First Aid and he made me do mouth to mouth resuscitation to Pansy Parkinson. I wondered vaguely what we would be doing this week and had a terrible mental image of giving blood samples. Even Hermione hated this class and didn't take notes. The late bell beeped and we all held our breaths, waiting for Snape to come in-but it wasn't Snape who came in. It was much, much worse. 

     "Allow me to introduce you to your Health sub for this week...me." 

    It was Lockhart. He smiled at us and continued. 

     "And this week I'll be teaching you about sexual education." 

    Oh God, no! Everyone looked scared. Why didn't Harry warn me? Then Lockhart got out the pictures. THE HORROR!!! THE HORROR!!! 

**°°°Harry°°°**

    My house came into view. I paused on the corner. Ron stopped and looked at me. 

     "You want to just forget about it?" he asked me. 

    I have everything I need at Ron's. My own toothbrush, an extra set of clothes, etc. But we have a bio project due tomorrow and I left all my stuff at home. Ron offered helping me start over from scratch, but I spent hours on that thing already and I didn't want to stay up all night. 

     "No, we have to get it," I told him. 

    Uncle Vernon's car was home. Just peachy. 

     "Alright, listen," I told Ron and he came closer. "We'll go into the back and climb up that tree next to my window. I'll go in and get my stuff and get out of there as quick as I can." 

    Ron nodded. We snuck into the back yard and began climbing the huge oak outside of my window. 

**°°°Ron°°°**

    I sat in the tree, partially hidden from view, and watched as Harry found his project and put it into his school bag. He was turning to go back out of the window when his uncle came in. He was obviously drunk. He grabbed Harry by his hair and threw him into the wall. Harry's strong, but he's no match for his uncle's bulk. Harry regained his bearings and began trying to block the punches, having very little success. 

    I knew of Harry's home life for awhile now, but I never actually saw him get a beating. I sat in the tree not knowing what to do. I had to help him! My eyes darted around his room, looking for a bat, or stick, or anything! Then I saw my most powerful weapon: Harry's camera. I snuck into the room and turned the camera on, hoping that there was a tape in it. Harry's uncle saw me and knocked me to the ground and began punching me. Harry jumped upon his back. His uncle stood and ran his back into the wall, squishing Harry. 

    I spat out some blood and began my search for a bat once again. I didn't find one. But I did find a vacuum cleaner. I some how found the strength to pick it up and knock Harry's uncle unconscious. Then I sunk to my knees. Harry looked half-dead. 

     "Why," he began, his voice very quiet, "why did you come in here?" 

    Our blood was dripping onto his floor. 

    I pointed to the camera. 

     "You can't hit someone else's kid," I told him. 

    We both smiled and got up, wincing immensely. We took the camera and our stuff and got the hell out of there. The walk to my place was much longer than normal and a lot of people saw us. We opened my kitchen door and collapsed into some chairs, lying our heads on the table. We were both still bleeding and we were both dizzy and light-headed. Mom came in and saw us. 

     "What, what?" 

    She was flustered, not knowing whom to help first. I forced the camera into her hand. 

     "What?" she asked, still confused. 

     "You can't hit someone else's kid," I repeated, then I passed out. 

**°°°Harry°°°**

    I opened my eyes, which was rather painful seeing as they were both swollen. There was an Asian man in white robes hovering over me with a friendly smile. 

     "Hello, I am Dr. Khai! Do you remember me?" he asked. 

    I had seen Dr. Khai several times in my youth. I realized that I was in a hospital and that most of my wounds had been mended. Dr. Khai was checking my stats. 

     "Ron! Where is he? How is he?" 

     "The red-headed boy with the vacant expression?" asked Dr. Khai. 

    I nodded. 

     "He's much better off than you are. Just a few scrapes and bruises. You got the worst of it." 

    I was getting sleepy again. I was about to go back to sleep when Sirius came in. I never saw him look so worried. He walked in with a quick pace and stood over me, tenderly ruffling my hair. 

     "Harry, are you okay? What happened? Who did this to you?" 

    All the questions were hurting my brain. 

    Dr. Khai tapped Sirius's shoulder. Sirius turned around. 

     "What?" he asked. 

     "He's sedated," Dr. Khai told him. 

     "Oh," replied Sirius. Sirius turned back to me. "You can tell me later." 

    Dr. Khai tapped him again. 

     "What!?" Sirius asked again annoyed. 

     "Are you his father?" Dr. Khai asked. 

     "No." 

     "Guardian, then?" 

     "No." 

     "Then you have no right being here." 

    Sirius looked outraged. 

     "He's my Godson!" 

     "Unless he's your charge, you have no right being here, now let him be!" 

    Sirius glared. 

     "I'll see you tomorrow, Harry," he told me. And then he left. 

     "You and your friend will have to stay the night," Dr. Khai told me. "You may even have to stay longer." 

     "Mmm," I mumbled, loosing consciousness. 

     "I think I'll go check on your friend," said Dr. Khai, leaving the room. 

     "Hello, I am Dr. Khai! Do you remember me?" sounded from the next room. Ron groaned. 

**°°°Ginny°°°**

    I made the swim team and had my first practice after school. Hermione took me home (she joined too) and I was expecting to find a house filled with people, but no one was home. I was shocked, but I didn't get worried until later when no one returned home. Finally at ten they came home. Turns out that Ron and Harry got beat up pretty badly and are in the hospital. I started crying. 

     "Oh, it's not too bad dear," Mom coaxed. "They just both have black eyes, busted lips, bad bruising on their faces, arms, and torsos. Ron has a slight concussion. And Harry has a slightly worse concussion than Ron and a broken rib." 

    My mom was acting as if they had just skinned a knee or something. 

     "What's this?" asked George holding up a movie. 

     "Ron handed it to me before he passed out," Mom explained. "Said something about hitting another kid..." Mom trailed off. 

    Fred, George, and I looked at each other and shrugged. 

     "Let's watch it in our room," George suggested and we marched to their room and popped the tape in. It was about five minutes long and it was of Harry's uncle beating Harry and Ron for no apparent reason. When it was over we all stared at the blank screen with our mouths open. Then Fred started laughing. 

     "What's so funny?" I asked him, shocked that he could laugh at a thing like that. 

     "He hit him with a VACUUM CLEANER!!! Of all things!" Fred wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh, our brother certainly does have a sense of humor." 

**Another Author's Note:** Sorry about the abrupt character POV changes in this chapter. I just couldn't stick with one character. I'd be writing and then all of the sudden I wanted to write someone else. Next chapter will be much better. Especially with a certain health project that they're supposed to do. 


	5. She Said What?

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Serendipity_

**Author's Note:** -sniffles- Sorry but I'm currently mourning the death of a good head of hair. You see -sniffles- this guy that I like had this really great hair and he...he...HE SHAVED HIS HEAD!!! -sniffles- But I'll survive. Anywho, I think this chapter is much better than the last one. Yup, yup. Oh and guess what! I'm giving you guys another chance to plot this story. So far Harry and Ginny are winning in the love triangle, but here's the new vote. The judge is getting Harry away from the Dursley's, should he live with: Sirius, Ron, or be put in a home? Voting is only for this chapter. After this chapter is posted I'll give you guys **two days** to cast your votes. After **48** hours the one with the most votes wins, and it goes into the next chapter. 

**Disclaimer:** Don't own them. 

Chapter Five

_She Said What?_

**

°°°Dr. Khai°°°

**

Earlier this morning, I had the redheaded, vacant-expressioned kid moved into the same room as the messy haired kid. Not that it really matters; they're both going to be leaving this evening. After they were settled, I came in to check their stats. 

"Hello, I am Dr. Khai! Do you remember me? I remember you!" 

They both looked at me oddly. I'd tried to make small talk. 

"Weasley, eh? Yes, we get a lot of them. Do you know Fred and George?" 

"They're my brothers." 

"Ah, yes, George came in just last week. Something about jumping out of his chemistry window? He was fine." 

They were still looking at me oddly, and I was done checking their stats so I left and went into the next room where I found a stoned kid name Billy Beerbomb. 

"Hello, I am Dr. Khai..." 

**

°°°Ron°°°

**

I'm glad that I got moved into the same room with Harry. Dunno how I would survive without someone sane to talk to. Dr. Khai came in every two hours or so and he was annoying! Does he really think that we'd forget him so easily? But he was the least of our problems. Our TV only had three channels: The Food Network, The Disney Channel, and The Soap Opera Channel. First we tried The Food Network but it made us hungry and we had no food. Well, no edible food anyway. So we switched to The Disney Channel. After five hours of watching The Disney Channel, we came to one conclusion-Lizzie and Gordo should just hook up already! 

And that was the highlight of our day until about three in the afternoon when Sirius came in. We told him about what happened and he was pissed. 

"Well that's it, Harry, after the judge sees that tape, he'll have to let you stay with me," Sirius said brightly. 

"He'll probably put me into a home," Harry replied. Harry has been really depressed since the incident. It's getting annoying really. 

"If he won't let you live with Sirius, Mom and Dad will take you in for sure," I chimed in, hoping to raise his spirits. 

"Yeah, guess they would," Harry said, and to my relief he seemed a lot happier. 

Around four Hermione, Seamus, Dean, Neville, and Ginny came in. Hermione said that she brought our homework to my house so we'll be caught up when we go back to school tomorrow. Blast that girl. But still, it was kind of nice of her. I was glad to see Ginny sit by Harry; Harry even absentmindedly stroked her back. It's weird seeing them like that but I have to hand it to Harry; Ginny seemed absolutely lovey-dovey with him. Kind of worries me though. 

We got checked out and sent home at five. Mom and Dad came and got us and we all went to this nice restaurant for dinner, though eating it was hard for Harry and I seeing as we were both in severe pain. We tried doing our homework when we got home, but we both received so many phone calls from worried people that Hermione did most of it for us. Percy even called from Harvard! He didn't talk long thank God, but I felt very pleased. Fred and George get injured all the time and he never calls to make sure that they're all right. 

Later Harry and I were watching TV in the living room when our medication kicked in. I fell asleep on the couch. 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

It was still dark out when I woke up. I had been sleeping on the floor in Ron's living room. My back hurt, my wounds hurt, and my head was all foggy. Ron was sleeping on the couch and he seemed to be comfortable enough so I decided that it wouldn't hurt if I went into his room and slept there. With much difficulty, I managed to get up and walk out of the living room. Their hallway was dark and I wasn't really in a state of mind to be walking down a dark hallway. I stubbed my toe twice and cursed myself each time. 

"Harry, are you okay?" 

It was Ginny, she was poking her head out of her bedroom. 

"Yeah, I was just..." I trailed off. Stupid medications. Then we stood in complete silence. "Ginny?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Wouldyoubemygirlfriend?" 

It all came out as one word. I blame the medications. 

"What?" 

"Would you be my girlfriend?" 

She was quiet for a really long time. 

"Maybe." 

Maybe? What kind of answer is maybe? 

"I'll have to think about it, Harry." 

And then she closed her door, leaving me there to stand stupidly in the dark hallway. I awoke several hours later to Ron cursing as he tried to find something to wear to school. He looked much better off than what I felt. We were both given "non drowsy" medication this morning and we both refused Wood's ride. Ron because he wanted fresh air, me because I didn't want to see Ginny. I told Ron about what she said the night before. 

"Maybe!? What the hell did she mean by that?" he asked outraged. 

"I dunno," I replied glumly. 

"This isn't good. Maybe we should ask Hermione about it?" Ron suggested. 

"Why should we get Hermione involved?" 

"She already knows what we're doing, it might help us to have some girl insight here!" Ron reasoned. 

I didn't know how Hermione knew of what we were doing and I didn't ask either because my head hurt and I didn't want to think anymore. We were nearly late for school. I walked into health just a mere few seconds before the bell rang. 

"Ah, there you are, Potter! Feeling any better today?" 

It was Lockhart. I had forgotten about him and my head began to hurt. I took my normal seat behind Draco who seemed displeased to have me back. 

"What did I miss?" I asked him. 

"Lockhart giving us The Talk and using Barbies as visuals," he replied throwing a disgusted stare at Lockhart whom was hauling in several boxes. "Wonder what shit he's got planned for us today. 

Draco was soon answered when Lockhart pulled out a baby doll from one of the boxes. The baby started crying immediately. 

"Parenthood," started Lockhart, casting a cheerful smile to the rest of us, "is a very big responsibility, and to let you see how big of a responsibility parenthood is I have paired you guys up in groups of two and I will be giving you a baby to take care of over the next couple of days with your partner. Now this will be for a grade so make sure that you take very good care of your child. Inside each baby is a device that tracks how often and how long the baby cries. Now to the partners." 

He began reading off peoples' names. Some kids were quite pleased with their partners and some were not. And in my case, some were paired with a person so annoying that they planned to throw themselves in front of their buses that afternoon. 

"Harry Potter you'll be paired with, uh, Draco Malfoy." 

"What?" Draco and I spat out at the same time, rising from our seats. 

"We can't!" 

"We're both boys!!!" 

"As you two can very well see," Lockhart instructed, waving a hand at the rest of the class, "we have more boys than girls so I had no choice other than to pair two boys together. Now take your child and sit down!" 

He handed us a baby dressed in blue. We both looked at it as if it were a time bomb waiting to go off. 

"You take it first," Draco spat out, throwing the baby at me as the bell beeped. The baby started crying immediately. Now which bus should I jump in front of? 

**

°°°Hermione°°°

**

"Psst, hey Hermione!" 

I was interrupted from taking notes of the Crow Indians by a deep voice, belonging to Ron. He had his newest magazine propped up so Mr. Binns couldn't see him. Not that it really mattered; half the class was playing truth or dare. Mr. Binns droned on and didn't seem to notice the disturbance. I looked Ron's way and raised an eyebrow. 

"Do you know what's up with Ginny?" he asked me. 

It was a very weird question. Why would I know whether or not there was something up with Ginny? 

"No," I told him, abandoning my note taking. "Why?" 

He sighed and moved his desk closer to mine so people wouldn't overhear our conversation. 

"Harry asked Ginny to be his girlfriend last night and she said maybe," he told me. 

"Hmm, wonder why she said that?" 

A pained expression came over him. 

"You don't know why?" he asked. 

"No," I replied. 

He was silent for a little while and seemed to be in deep thought. I went back to my notes only to be interrupted by him yet again. 

"You could stay the night tonight and have a talk with her," he suggested. "You know, have one of those girl talks where you get into your pajamas, eat ice cream, and giggle a lot." He got a weird expression on his face that looked as if he couldn't understand why girls do that. 

"But it's a school night!" I said shocked. 

He waved me off as if it were of no importance. 

"What are we actually going to do tomorrow that you need to be awake for?" 

Now that he mentioned it, nothing. And my parents have been trying to get me out of the house and do things with my friends lately, so I guess that they wouldn't mind. Plus, Ginny and I haven't had one of our girl nights in over a year. 

"Yeah, okay, I'll ask Ginny about it." 

"Great!" Ron said smiling. "Poptart?" he asked, handing me a poptart. 

**

°°°Ginny°°°

**

We have two PE classes during the same period. You're either with Hagrid or with Ms. Hooch. Hermione and I have Ms. Hooch, whereas the boys have Hagrid. Every now and then the two classes get paired together, but not very often. Hermione and I share a locker in the locker room. I was tying my shoes when Hermione came in. 

"Hi, Hermione!" I told her. 

"Hey, Ginny," she replied. She began changing. "You know what we haven't done in a while." 

"What?" I asked, putting my hair in a ponytail. 

"Had a sleep over. So do you think it'll be okay if I stayed the night at your place tonight?" she asked tying her shoes. 

"I guess it'll be okay," I told her as we walked out into our attendance line. "Mom loves it when both you and Harry stay the night." 

"Great, I'll be over around five," she said. 

I was about to ask her what was for lunch when a disturbance across the gym distracted us. Harry and Draco seemed to be having problems in their attendance line. Harry was rocking what looked like a baby. The baby was crying and Draco was yelling at him. 

"You're doing it all wrong, Potter!" he shouted, grabbing the baby away from Harry. "You have to do it like this," he said, propping the baby so that its head was on his shoulder. He then proceeded by rubbing the baby's back, rocking back and forth slightly, and issuing a number of 'Shh, it's alright's. 

It was amusing (and as much as I hate to mention it, cute) to see Draco acting so much like a father. The baby quieted down a bit, but then Draco got a look of pure shock. His eyes widened and he stopped his rocking. Then he held the baby away from him and revealed a large wet spot on his grey shirt. 

"How life-like is this thing!" he shouted. 

Harry was laughing. 

"You take him," Draco said, thrusting the baby at Harry. 

"I don't want him," Harry said, thrusting it back. 

"Well I don't want him," Draco said, giving it back to Harry. 

The baby was screaming its head off by now. 

"You take him!" 

"You!" 

"You!" 

"You!" 

"I'm going to the nurse!" Draco yelled, throwing the baby at Harry and storming off. The gym was in an uproar. 

**

°°°Ron°°°

**

Fourth period English, an all time favorite class. Even the fact that Draco and his friends are in it doesn't spoil it. Mr. Flitwick teaches English. He makes it really fun and interactive. For example, we're currently in a literature unit. We were reading William Shakespeare's _Romeo & Juliet_, but instead of just reading it, he had us draw names and we're acting it out. I'm Benvolio, Draco's Tybalt, Harry's Romeo, and Hermione's Juliet. Crabbe's the priest. It's kind of funny. We all get little plastic swords and everything. We were at the balcony scene. I was sitting on the floor, leaning on my sword and reading along. Harry and Hermione were really goofing off, they were doing the whole dramatic thing. Harry was currently down on one knee and had his arms spread out. They were both tripping up over the weird dialect. 

"Thou art a, uh," Harry forgot his line, "a major babe!" 

The whole class, including Flitwick, laughed. Then came the kissing scene. I got a knot in my stomach for some reason and my palms got sweaty. Harry got up, grabbed Hermione's head and gave her a big wet one on the cheek. It was quick and innocent but I still for some reason gritted my teeth. 

"Jealous, Weasel?" 

Draco was sitting next to me. His sword was on the floor and he was bouncing that mechanical baby on his knee. 

"No," I told him. I must not have been very convincing because he looked like he was going to say something else, but the baby started crying again. 

"Oh for the love of God!" Draco yelled, throwing the baby at Harry who was running to see the priest. Harry tripped over the baby and ran into Crabbe. The two got tangled in the blanket that we had draped around Crabbe to make him look like a priest. 

"Mr. Malfoy don't throw things in my classroom," Mr. Flitwick shouted, throwing an eraser at Draco. Throwing erasers at Draco is Mr. Flitwick's favorite past time. 

**

°°°Hermione°°°

**

Six pizzas! It took six pizza to feed us all, of course most of the pizza ended up on the floor, or table, or in Fred and George's case, in their ears. I laughed so hard that I had to stop eating or else I would probably throw up. Just another supper at the Weasley house. After dinner, Ginny and I went to her room and changed into pajamas even though it was only six. Ron and Harry laughed at us. 

Ron and Ginny's rooms are connected with a double door. The doors used to always be open when they were really little but ever since they hit their tweens it has been closed and locked except for on occasion. This was one of those occasions. The doors were open and we all broke out our homework to get it out of the way. I was just finishing up my French when the mechanical baby belonging to Ron and I (yes we got one too) started crying in the far corner of Ron's room (he and Harry had made nice little beds for the babies on a pile of Ron's dirty clothes). Harry was currently over there trying to quiet his. Ron and I both looked up. 

"Do you want me handle it?" he asked. 

"No," I told him, "it's my turn." 

I got up stepped over Ron and went over to where Harry was sitting. We had been given fake little baby bottles and I jammed one into its mouth. 

"Did you guys name yours?" I asked him. For some reason people were naming their babies. 

"Yeah," said Harry, looking at the baby with disgust, "Satan." 

I laughed. 

"What about you two? Did you name yours?" he asked. 

"No," I told him. "We just call it 'it'." 

"Oh, you're such kind and loving parents," he teased. 

I smiled and looked over to where Ron and Ginny were sitting. Ron had taken a time out from his homework and was currently helping Ginny with her algebra homework. Harry noticed my gaze. 

"You still haven't told him," he said, leaning back on the pile of clothes. 

"Told him what?" I asked, but Harry couldn't answer because Satan started crying louder than before. He sat up and began bouncing him on his knee. 

"How does Draco get this thing to shut up!?" 

**

°°°Dr. Khai°°°

**

Why do kids do drugs? Why? This Billy Beerbomb kid is a mess. He stole the prescription pot yesterday. Government going to be very mad with me. And to top things off those two Weasley twins are back. They need me to clean out their ears because they have pizza in them. How do seventeen-year-olds get pizza in their ears? 

**

°°°Hermione°°°

**

It took me forever to get Ginny on the topic of boys; she seemed to be avoiding the subject and she only got around to it when I finally admitted to her that I had a thing developing for her brother. I hope he wasn't listening from the other side of the door. 

"You and Ron?" she exclaimed a bit louder than I would have liked. I sent a wary look at the door. 

"Yes, now shh!" I told her. 

"Do you think he has the same feelings?" she asked, leaning forward on her knees interestedly. 

"I dunno," I told her, wanting to get off of my love life and on to hers. "He did try to kiss me a couple of days ago in the janitor's closet, but any guy would want a free ride, right?" 

Ginny's eyes bulged. 

"He tried to kiss you!? And what were you two doing in the janitor's closet anyway?" 

"I needed to talk to him privately," I told her quickly. 

"About what?" 

"Nothing," I replied. "So what about you? How are things going with you and Harry?" 

She looked like she was afraid that I'd ask that. She was silent for a really long time and I wondered if she would tell me anything, but then: 

"He asked me to be his girlfriend last night," she said slowly. 

I acted as if I was surprised and excited though this was no new news for me and I couldn't be excited now that I knew the outcome. 

"And what did you say?" 

"I told him that I'd think about it," she said. 

I faked shocked. 

"Why did you tell him that?" 

"For a number of reasons." 

I waited, but she didn't say anything. 

"Which are...?" I coaxed. 

"Well for one thing, he was sedated and half-asleep when he asked me, I just want to be sure that he really wants to and it's not just the medications talking here." 

That made perfect sense and I silently cursed myself for not thinking of it sooner. 

"And the other reasons?" I asked. 

"There's only one more reason." 

"What is it?" 

She was silent once again; it was really getting annoying. 

"Hermione, I..." 

Silence. 

"You...?" 

"I think I'm falling for Draco." 

**Another Author's Note:** Grr...life's not going too well right now. I gave blood today so two fingers on my left hand hurts and so does my right arm, two of my friends are ditching the rest of us again, I got a cell phone for my birthday and it's not working, and I got a review for Anthem that's basically scolding me for not updating for a friggin month. I'm sorry people. Anywho I love this chapter and I hope that you guys do too. Don't forget to vote! 

**Last One, Promise:** I wrote all that up there a few days ago, I just haven't felt like putting the codes in yet, but anywho...I saw the Lizzie McGuire movie with my friends out of curiosity and Lizzie and Gordo do hook up. Hmph, who'da thought. Oh and just so you know, my arm and fingers are better, my phone works, and I'm not letting the review get to me. 


	6. Project DGD

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Serendipity_

**Author's Note:** Once again I have writer's block and once again I find myself writing a chapter over. I decided to make this a Harry/Ginny fic with Draco poking his bleached head in to keep the plot going. I have also decided that Harry will stay with Sirius seeing as he got the most votes. I'd like to thank everyone who voted and I'll be thinking of another vote for you soon. 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything you may recognize be it Harry Potter or anything relating to the real world. 

Chapter Six

_Project DGD_

**°°°Hermione°°°**

I didn't sleep well that night after Ginny told me that she was acquiring feelings for Draco. I tossed and turned and had many weird nightmares about Ginny marrying Draco and Harry going insane. 

The morning wasn't much better, and with six people having to get ready for school and only one bathroom it's not that hard to figure out why. Fred and George got up ten minutes later than the rest of us. They walked out of their room tousle-haired and rubbing sleep from their eyes when they saw Harry, Ginny, and me standing in a line outside of the bathroom, holding our towels and other supplies, waiting for Ron to get done. They stood there for a moment, mumbled something that sounded much like 'Screw it' and went back to bed. 

Breakfast was rushed and consisted mostly of Mrs. Weasley shoving toast down our throats as we walked out the door (Fred and George still in their SpongeBob Squarepants pajamas). And the ride to school was crowded and loud seeing as the guys fought over professional soccer players and our mechanical babies were disgruntled. 

Binns was boring as ever. Usually he doesn't mind if we talk and goof around but he seemed to be in a particularly bad mood and it took five people to get detentions for talking before the rest of us decided to behave ourselves. Ron even put his half-eaten poptart back in his backpack. 

Unable to take notes on the stupid Revolutionary War (I've learned it 100 times!) I decided to write a note to Ron, telling him our predicament with Ginny. I turned to a new page and wrote: 

_Ron- _

I talked to Ginny last night and she told me that there are two reasons why she told Harry maybe when he asked her out. The first reason is that he was sedated and she wanted to make sure that he really did want to go out with her and it wasn't really just the medications talking. This reason makes sense and I was actually proud of Ginny for thinking of it. But whatever pride I felt toward Ginny was crushed by her second reason. She admitted that she is falling for Draco. Harry better make his move soon or else...well I don't want to think about what may happen if he doesn't. 

Love always, 

Hermione 

The door burst open as I was tearing the page out of my notebook and folding it. I glanced up to see a man in his sixties swaggering in the doorframe. His clothes were disheveled and he seemed to have trouble focusing. He was glancing around the classroom, and seemed to be looking for someone. Mr. Binns stopped his usual drone and gave this man the same look that he gave Dumbledore when he had interrupted his class. 

"Shit, it's my grandpa," whispered Seamus. Turning around I saw Seamus trying to cover his face with his hands. Hiding didn't work however, and Seamus's grandpa spotted him. The older man stumbled into the room and pointed a finger at Seamus, ignoring Mr. Binns inquiries. 

"Boy! Keep your seat warm!" he said loudly, but not angrily. He then turned around and walked back out of the door at an alarming pace. 

There was a vast silence as everyone in the class looked at Seamus, who seemed unsure of what to say to that. But he didn't need to say anything because the door swung open once more and his grandfather walked in yet again, this time, however, he addressed Mr. Binns: 

"Twelve years I went to school, and I kept my seat warm each and every one of those years!" 

"That's nice," said Mr. Binns who seemed as unsure as Seamus did as to what to say. 

"Dern right it is," replied Seamus's grandfather as he turned on his heals once more and left the room for good. 

Mr. Binns took out a bottle of aspirin from his desk and massaged his temples. 

"Class dismissed," he mumbled, fiddling with the cap. 

Everyone sat stock still for a few moments, unsure of what to do. 

"Just leave!" he ordered, and this time Seamus ran from the room. The rest of us followed tentatively behind. I gave Ron the note as he turned left to go to his locker. 

**

°°°George°°°

**

"It's burning! It's burning!" 

Fred and my rants were ignored in chemistry today. We were in lab and Fred had picked up a test tube of some clear liquid. I'm not sure what happened next but the clear liquid dripped upon our hands and began burning our skin. The tips of our fingers were turning slightly brown. 

"Ahh!" Fred yelled next to me. 

"What?" I asked, thrusting my hands under the cool water from the sink at our lab table. 

"It almost dripped on my slippers!" 

Our pj's were a big hit at school. 

Some curious faces were turning toward us, causing Snape to come over to see what the commotion was all about. 

"You idiot boys, you're not supposed to get this stuff on your skin!" he scolded. "Go to the nurse!" 

**°°°Ron°°°**

I didn't get to read Hermione's note until between second and third period because we had a particularly hard geometry test second period. I gave it to Harry to read in the locker room as we changed for PE. When he finished the letter, Harry glared at Draco who was staring lovingly at his own reflection in the mirror, as Satan lay stuffed in his PE locker. 

We had archery today while the girls stayed inside. After helping setting up, Harry and I retreated to the back of the line and sat in the grass, debating what we should do. It was cloudy and cool out, and there was a slight smell of rain in the air. I stared up at the grey sky and let my mind become blissfully blank after being confused with both geometry and the whole Ginny/Draco problem. 

"Sirius showed the tape to the judge," Harry announced suddenly. "Dumbledore told me this morning. I'll be moving into Sirius's apartment today after school." 

Harry and I were both silent after this. We sat and watched Hagrid as he tried to help Colin with his shooting. It was all in vain though because Colin's arrow flew only a few feet before implanting itself into the ground. 

"Maybe we should just give up on this whole stopping Ginny from getting Draco thing," I suggested as I watched Draco strut up and shoot a perfect bullseye. 

"I'll be damned before I let Draco hurt Ginny," Harry said, glaring at Draco with utmost loathing. 

I looked at Harry curiously as he dug his nails into the soft dirt of the softball field and continued his glaring. Was Hermione right about him having feelings for my sister? Thinking of Hermione, I pulled out her letter and stared at it. It took me a few moments before I realized that I was staring at the 'Love always' and when I did realize it, I folded the letter up quickly and stuffed it into my pocket. 

Harry was looking at me with a knowing smile. I didn't know why he was staring at me like that. Did he know something that I didn't? And why was he all of the sudden so protective of my sister? My head became cluttered with questions once again as I gazed back up to the sky. 

"I'm going to the nurse!" 

Someone had just shot Draco in the foot. 

**°°°Draco°°°**

I can't believe that someone actually had the nerve to shoot me in the foot. Okay so it didn't really penetrate my fabulous skin, but it still punctured my spiffy brand new shoes. I strolled into the nurse's waiting room only to find those two Weasel Twins on the couch holding their hands out in front of them. Both sets of hands were a brownish color and I caught a faint scent of something burnt as I sat next to them. I complemented them, sarcastically of course, on their choice of clothing. Yellow really is their color. One acquired a look as though he had just thought of something brilliant. 

"Don't Harry and Ginny make a good couple, Fred?" one of them (George it appears) asked the other. 

Fred looked confused for a moment then realization appeared to have dawned upon him. 

"Yes they do! Ginny's absolutely smitten with him!" 

I was about to tell them that I didn't believe a word they were saying but Mrs. Pomfrey's door burst open as she rushed Seamus out. 

"I don't know what happened to you today Mr. Finnigan but you seem perfectly fine to me and I can not permit you to go home." 

Seamus scowled and stormed out, violently shoving his history book in his backpack as he did so. I wondered vaguely what happened and decided to ask Weasel III about it next hour in English. Mrs. Pomfrey turned to the rest of us. 

"Who's next? Oh." 

The three of us smiled up at her and asked 'Miss me?' simultaneously which made each of us glare at one another afterwards. 

"Honestly, you three are in here more times than the rest of the school combined. Well alright, Fred, George, you two first." 

The twins stood, holding their hands out in front of them as if they were contaminated and marched into Mrs. Pomfrey's office, leaving me with my thoughts, which I really hate. Were they just bluffing about Pothead and Weasel IV, or were they just telling me the awful news? 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

Ron and I spent that most of that night after soccer practice, moving my stuff into Sirius's apartment. Sirius wasn't home; he had just been re-hired at his old bartending job. I was in a particularly sour mood because I was not allowed to participate in soccer until my rib healed completely (Ron was already back on the team). I've been ball boy for the past week, and I was going to sit on the sidelines at our first game, which was the next morning. 

"Appreciate your time off," Ron told me after we had finished putting my stuff away. He walked into the kitchen and applied some ice to his calves. "Haven't you seen how hard Hagrid is working us out there?" he asked. 

I went to the refrigerator and took out some sodas and jerky and went to go sit by Ron at the table. 

"Yeah I know, I just wish that I was out there with you guys, that's all," I replied, biting into a particularly tough piece of jerky. 

"No you don't, believe me," Ron said, now applying ice to his thighs. We sat there in silence for awhile, then Ron changed the subject: 

"I'm glad that you decided to continue on with Project DGD," he said. "It really means a lot to me, man." 

"Project DGD?" I asked. 

"Yeah, Distract Ginny from Draco." 

"Oh," I replied. Did Ron still think that I was doing this solely for him? A fourth of it was for him, a fourth for Ginny, but a big whopping half of it was for me. I know that that sounded selfish, but it's true. Ron continued as I scolded myself over being selfish. 

"Anyway, I was thinking, maybe you could go with Ginny to the game tomorrow, since you're sitting on the sidelines anyway." 

"She'll probably go with Hermione," I said at once, remembering how I had made Hermione promise to come to our first game, but Ron shook his head. 

"Hermione already promised Lavender, Parvatti, Neville and Seamus that she'll go with them to the game because Ginny was still undecided about whether or not she wants to go. So why don't you call Ginny and ask her to go with you?" 

My stomach suddenly clenched up. 

"What? Now?" I asked, alarmed. 

"Yeah, now," said Ron reaching for the phone. "It's only 9:30, she'll be up." 

He handed me the phone, but I pushed it away. 

"No I'll just see her there," I replied, continuing to push the phone away no matter how hard Ron tried to shove it into my hands. 

"Oh, come on, Harry!" Ron exclaimed. "Here, look, I'll dial." 

Ron quickly dialed his own number and placed the receiver to his ear, listening to the rings. Suddenly he tried to hand it to me again. 

"Alright, it's her." 

"Hello, Ginny?" I asked, finally taking the phone. 

"Yeah," came Ginny's voice on the other end. 

"Hey, it's Harry." Long pause. Ron nodded, encouraging me on. "I, uh, I was just wondering if, uh, you were, um, going to the soccer game tomorrow morning?" 

"Well..." she replied, drawing it out as though she wasn't sure of the answer. 

"Because I was wondering," I cut in quickly before she could finish, "if you would like to go with me. I could pick you up and we can sit together, and I'll even buy you a hotdog." 

"Sure, I'd love to go," she said brightly. 

"Great! The game starts at nine, so I'll pick you up around eight thirty?" 

"Okay, see you then I guess." 

"Yeah alright." 

Suddenly, Ron grabbed the phone before I could tell Ginny goodbye. 

"Ginny!" he said at once. "Under my bed is my soccer stuff, could you put it in the wash for me? And don't forget the jock strap and the...hello? Ginny? Hello?" Ron brought the phone down from his ear and turned it off. "She hung up on me." 

**°°°Ron°°°**

I left Harry's house late and wasn't really thinking about where I was going when I found myself in front of Hermione's house. Her bedroom was on the first floor and her window was wide open. I wondered vaguely if Harry had put anything in those sodas that we had, as I found myself climbing into her room. I was walking around her room, looking at her pictures and examining her awards when I suddenly heard her voice tell her parents good night right outside her door. I panicked and darted into the closet, which was the closest thing too me. 

I left the door slightly open so I could see as she came in. She walked across her room and closed the window then proceeded to her dresser and took out a pair of pajamas and before I could even think about closing my eyes, she took her shirt off and start fiddling with trying to get her bra off. I had a slight debate with myself about whether or not I should look, then closed my eyes at the last minute. 

I didn't open my eyes again, until the light was turned off and Hermione was in bed. Then I sat there, waiting for her to fall asleep. Sitting there, all I could think about was Hermione in her underwear. Then I realized what I was thinking about and told myself to think about soccer. That worked for about five minutes before I started thinking about Hermione again. Then when I caught myself a second time and wondered why I couldn't stop thinking about her. Then I wondered why I even came into her room in the first place. Hermione fell asleep during all of my brainstorming and after an hour or so of thinking things I shouldn't be thinking about, I got mad at myself and left Hermione's room, making my way cautiously to the front door and disarming the alarm (I had seen her do it before). I ran home and my pulse didn't go down until long after I went to sleep. 

**°°°Harry°°°**

I was so excited that about going to the soccer game with Ginny that I woke up two hours early. I took a long shower just to be sure that I smelled good and tried vainly to make my hair lie flat though I ended up just spiking it messily like I always do. I put on my jersey shirt, just so everyone would know that I was still part of the team, and a pair of jeans before I headed to the linen closet to get out an old quilt to sit on at the soccer field. 

I arrived at the Weasley house ten minutes before I said I would and met Ron and the twins on their driveway, shoving their bags into Old Betsy's trunk. Ron seemed in very high spirits but both twins looked downtrodden. 

"What's wrong with them?" I asked Ron as the twins got into the car, slamming the doors behind them. 

"They wanted to dye their hair red, you know, to support Hogwarts, but then they realized that they're natural red-heads," Ron told me, making a gallant effort not to laugh as he did so. 

"Ron, if you're not in this car within three seconds, we're running you over!" George called out from behind the wheel seeing as he was driving today. 

"Bye," Ron told me, getting into the backseat. 

"Good luck!" I shouted out to all three of them, but the only answer that I got was the screeching of tires as they sped away. 

Ginny was on the porch when I turned around. She was wearing jeans and an overly large sweatshirt that I recognized as one of the twins'. 

"Hi," she said, coming to join me on the driveway. "Mom and Dad will take us once they finished up the dishes." 

"Okay," I replied. There was an awkward silence. I looked up to the sky to avoid making eye contact with her. It was still cloudy and the faint smell of rain that I had detected yesterday in PE had grown stronger. It was also slightly cooler than what it was a week before and experience told me that it will be colder after the rain finally comes; but then again it was the first of October. I guessed that the summer heat was finally wearing thin. 

"Alright you kids," came Mr. Weasley's voice as he and the Mrs. ambled their way down to the driveway, keys in hand. "Get in!" 

I held the door open for Ginny and then hurried to the other side of the car and got in. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley made us listen to the Beach Boys the whole way there and Ginny and I were glad to be rid of them when we finally got to the field. 

We laid out the old quilt so close to the field that I was sure that we were to get hit by a few soccer balls through out the game but I didn't care. The two teams were already there and our team was doing warm up laps. Draco looked livid when he saw us together. 

The game started at nine and was very nerve racking. Our offense was great thanks to an assist by Ron and two goals from Draco, but our defense sucked seeing as they got Mouse to sub goalie for my place. 

It had started raining by half time, so Ginny and I took shelter under the quilt. Draco saw us into the second half and was so angry that he tripped over the ball. Fred saved it before the other team got to it and made yet another spectacular goal for our team, winning the game 3-2. 

Ginny and I walked onto the field to where Hagrid had the whole team in a huge bear hug. They were all hugging him back, excluding Draco who had a look of utter disgust on his face at this unexpected show of affection. When they saw me, they grabbed me from my sanctuary from under the quilt and pulled me into the hug too. 

"Watch the rib! Watch the rib!" I warned them and Hagrid set us all down again. 

"Party at our place tonight at seven!!!" the twins yelled. 

**

°°°Draco°°°

**

Normally I wouldn't grace the Weasley house with my presence but, with the current situation developing between Pothead and way hot Weasel IV, I had no choice but to. I wore my light blue button down shirt and black pants. Given the fact that every other girl was hitting on me, I take it that I looked very good indeed. After about a half an hour of walking around being seen by people, I grabbed a beer and nonchalantly made my way to the kitchen where the Dream Team and the Soccer Team were having a slight argument about something. 

"I'm telling you, he's gay, Alicia!" Weasel IV said. Potty, to my disgust, had his arm around her. 

Alicia and Katie both shook their heads, while the others nodded. 

"He can't be!" Katie exclaimed. 

"I'll prove it," replied Weasel IV. Her eyes caught mine. "Draco, what kind of shoes am I wearing?" 

"I rather talk about what kind of underwear you're wearing." 

Fred hit me. 

Just then Colin (who subbed for Potty for goalie today and sucked might I add) walked in. 

"Colin, what kind of shoes am I wearing?" 

"Uh, black ones," he replied before walking out. 

Just then the French foreign exchange student walked in. "Hello Peoples!!!" he said, shaking his hips way too much and going into everyone's personal space with his 'happy hands' as he did so. 

"Pepe, what kind of shoes do I have on?" Ginny asked once more. 

He stared at them for a moment. 

"Last season's," he said before moving into the living room. 

"That still doesn't mean that he's gay," said Alicia, shaking her head. I stopped listening because Pothead had just whispered something into Weasel the fourth's ear and they began making their way out the door. I followed and stood in the doorframe, watching them as they made their way, hand in hand down to the beach. 

At first I was angry, but that anger soon subsided as I thought of the look that will be on Potter's face when I steal his pretty little girlfriend away from him. This thought let me leave them to their privacy and I walked into the living room where I found Pepe making out with a very attractive girl. 

On the other side of the room, Fred and George were reluctantly placing money in Katie's hand. 

"What do ya know?" I asked surprised to Dean. "He really isn't gay." 

**

°°°Ginny°°°

**

Harry and I had spent most of our day celebrating with my brothers over their victory. Hermione came over several hours before the party to help us decorate, but she spent most of her time with Ron which made me remember her admitting to liking him several nights ago. I made a mental note to try to get Ron's ass in gear and just ask her out already. But at the moment, Harry and I were walking along the beach by ourselves. I was nervous. Before this year, Harry had only held my hand once, and that was five years ago when we had to cross the highway to get to Ern's Pizza (he found me lost and was taking me to my brothers). Suddenly he stopped and looked at me, taking both of my hands into his. 

"Ginny, do you remember that night when I asked you out?" he asked; he was looking down at our feet. 

"Yeah," I replied, consciously aware that my palms were getting sweaty. 

"Well," he said, and at the same time looked into my eyes, "it wasn't the medications talking." 

Then he kissed me. At first he stayed where he was and the kiss was really light, merely a brush with my lips. It was almost as though he was afraid that my brothers were looking out on us. But then he pulled me closer and deepened the kiss. And by the time that his hand was running through my hair, I was thinking, 'Draco who?'. 

**Another Author's Note:** You guys should thank me because I considered making you wait until the next chapter for Harry and Ginny together, but I decided against it at the last moment. All I really have to say is that I'm sorry if that gay thing offended anyone. I just kept typing and didn't realize that it might hurt someone, though I think that the way it ended made it clear not to judge by stereotypes, which is what I wanted to get through. 


	7. Motel Adventures

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Serendipity_

**Author's Note:** Nice long chapter here. Dunno how I got it all out. I had no clue what was going to happen in this chapter. I wasn't even planning on starting on this story for awhile. But one day I was in a writing mood and I asked my friend which one of my stories I should work on and she told me this one, so I wrote this one. Not too much Harry and Ginny in this chapter but there's some definite Ron and Hermione. I was disappointed that they didn't really hook up in Book Five so this is for everyone else who were disappointed. 

**Disclaimer:** Don't own anything that you may recognize. I don't own Carrie, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Keanu Reeves -hides Keanu in a nearby closet- 

Chapter Seven

_Motel Adventures_

**

°°°Ron°°°

**

"...such an irresponsible, senseless thing to do! Never had this problem with my older children! Honestly, such a raucous party taking place at my home?! Don't know what you four were thinking!" 

And so were Mom's words Sunday morning. Her and Dad had left for my third cousin's house after our game on Saturday to help her take care of her newborn sextuplets while the nanny was away, and they had come home this morning to find bottles, cans, and Draco Malfoy spewed across the front lawn. After about ten minutes of both of them yelling at the twins, Ginny, and I, they forced us outdoors with garbage bags to pick up the mess. You would think that the yelling would end there, but not for my mother. She sat on the old rocking chair on our porch and continued her yelling with Dad nodding his agreement every now and then. 

"What if the cops would have shown up? Who would be there to bail you four out of jail?" 

I wasn't really paying attention to what Mom was saying. I had tuned her out long ago and now focused my whole attention on getting a tangle of toilet paper out of the one tree that we have in the front yard. Fred was near by, throwing empty bottles into a bag. 

"Sounds like Malfoy is waking up," he muttered as he passed me by. 

I glanced over to where Malfoy was lying and suddenly realized that none of us had thought about rolling him onto his back. He was on his stomach with his arms and legs sprawled about him, his mouth slightly open. At first I didn't see a change but then I heard a low groan. 

"Stop yelling!" he whined, lifting his head a bit, his eyes only opened slightly. 

Everyone froze and even Mom stopped yelling. Dad looked unsure as to whether or not he should help Draco or call Mr. Malfoy and he ended up staring dumbfounded and standing stock-still. Draco was now looking around the yard and seemed thoroughly confused. 

"This isn't my yard!" he announced before slipping back into unconsciousness. 

We didn't have much longer to wait until a silver Mercedes cruised down the street and parked in the middle of the road that separates our house from the beach. Mr. Malfoy stepped out of the car and looked around with disgust before strolling up to Draco and nudging him with his foot. 

"Come Draco, we don't want to be late for church." 

Draco lifted his head once more, yet again looking confused. 

"Church...wha?" Draco mumbled. 

Mr. Malfoy grabbed Draco by the shirt collar and helped him up, to which Draco stood, swaying dangerously. He suddenly winced with pain and brought his hands up to his head. 

"Uh, Dad, I don't feel so good." 

Mr. Malfoy quickly turned his son so that he wasn't facing him. 

"Don't throw up on me, I just got this suit." 

That was Mom's cue. She came rushing forward and ushered a retching Draco into our home. Hopefully he made it to the bathroom. Mr. Malfoy looked disinterested with the rest of us. Dad tried to make small talk with him, which seemed very hard for him to do. They were talking about how messy it was to raise children. 

"This one time when Draco was about five, his fourth nanny had just walked out on him and with his mother in Vegas, I had no choice but to watch him for a whole day. At first everything was alright, he ate some pizza and then was jumping about playing with his toys when all of the sudden he stops, looks at me and then throws up all over my clothes." Mr. Malfoy paused there and shuddered. "I never fully recovered from that shock," he admitted. My father was giving him a look of utter disgust. 

Suddenly our front door opened again and Mom came out with Draco under her arm. He was wiping his mouth sheepishly on his sleeve. 

"Don't you worry about it Draco, dear," Mom was telling him. "A good cup of coffee and a nice nap and you'll be feeling better in no time!" 

Draco mumbled some form of thanks and continued walking towards his father; not making eye contact with the older man. He stopped in front of him, keeping his eyes focused on his shoes. 

"Feeling better?" Mr. Malfoy asked him. 

Draco nodded sullenly. 

"You're not going to throw up in the car are you?" 

Draco shook his head. 

"Alright, come on then." 

And the two left without a backward glance. 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

I woke up Sunday morning to Sirius calling out obscenities in the living room. I dressed quickly and went to see what the commotion was all about. 

"Golf, golf, golf, tennis...where the hell are the cartoons?" 

I found Sirius in his boxers and a T-shirt, sitting on the couch and flipping frantically through the channels. I rolled my eyes. 

"Today's Sunday, cartoons are on Saturday mornings Sirius," I told him. He jumped when he saw me and turned the TV off. 

"Oh, you're up," Sirius said. 

I chuckled and shook my head. 

"Do you want pancakes for breakfast?" I asked him. "I've been having cravings for blueberry pancakes all week." 

I shuffled into the kitchen and began getting out the ingredients that I would need, Sirius followed. He looked a bit sullen and seemed to be in deep thought. Stopped at the island counter, he began tracing the tile patterns with his index finger. 

"You cook?" he asked, gazing at the black surface of the counter. 

"Yeah," I replied. "Who do you think does most of the cooking back at the...the place where I used to live." For some reason I couldn't bring myself to say Dursley's. 

Sirius sighed and sat on the counter, watching me crack some eggs for the pancake batter. 

"James didn't cook," he announced suddenly after a few minutes of silence. "He tried a couple times but he was never really good at it. Your mom was an excellent cook though," he added a bit more cheerfully. "That's one of the many reasons why she was so perfect for your father." 

We were both silent for a few more minutes as I stirred the batter slowly. I knew that we were both thinking about my parents. Finally I cleared my throat and asked something that I wanted to ask him ever since I met him those few years ago. 

"What was my dad like?" I asked as I reached for the blueberries to put in. 

At first I didn't think that Sirius heard me. He continued to gaze at his feet and didn't reply right away; but after a few seconds, he lifted his head and looked at me as though he were sizing me up and deciding how much he should tell me. Finally he spoke: 

"Worse than you," he said, and he returned his gaze back to the floor. 

I waited until I had dumped a ladle full of batter onto the pan for the first pancake before I talked again. 

"What do you mean, 'Worse than me'?" I asked, unsure as to whether or not I wanted to know the answer. 

It wasn't until I had flipped the pancake over that Sirius answered. 

"You have all of the admirable qualities that your father has," he started, looking at me once again. "You're brave, smart, athletic, even good looking in that rumpled sort of way," he said, smiling and ruffling my already wild hair, "however, James wasn't as..." Sirius paused here as he thought of the right word to use, "good as you are," he finished. 

I knitted my brow in confusion. 

"Wasn't as good as I am?" I repeated. "What do you mean by good?" I asked slowly. The pancakes were done and we moved to the table to eat them. "What, he wasn't as athletic or smart as me or something?" I asked. 

Sirius winced as though he were having an internal struggle. 

"No, what I mean is, you already know that we were a bit of...well...pranksters in school. I mean, I know that you can pull a good prank when you want to, but you're more mellow than we were." 

"Oh," I said, feeling a bit better, "so you guys were like Fred and George?" 

Sirius had that look as though his consciences were arguing on his shoulders again. 

"Sort of," he said, drawing the words out. "We did pranks like Fred and George do, only we were more vindictive about them." 

"What do you mean vindictive?" I asked. I was getting a sinking feeling in my stomach, and I was beginning to wonder if I would be able to finish my pancake. 

Sirius sighed and leaned in closer to me, as though he had decided to just tell the whole truth and get it over with. 

"Listen," he said quickly, "Fred and George do pranks to make people laugh, not to make someone feel bad. Fred and George would never do something completely spiteful to a person just because they're there. We weren't really like Fred and George, Harry," Sirius said, and I could feel my mouth getting dry, "we were more like," Sirius paused one last time, racking his brain through a mental list of my classmates names, "Draco Malfoy," he finished at last. 

I dropped my fork; my half-eaten pancake lay slathered in syrup, completely forgotten. 

"You guys did things like that?" I asked. I knew that I looked hurt by his confession. 

"It's not as though we're proud of them." 

"Maybe you, you're grown and matured now, but my dad died when he was twenty two! How do you know that he was sorry for the things that he did to people?" 

"Because your mother changed him!" Sirius said loudly. "She made him see what he was doing to people. He became soft hearted long before I did!" 

"People like Draco Malfoy don't change, Sirius!" I said firmly. 

Sirius shook his head. 

"I shouldn't have told you," he said, looking down and going back to his pancakes. 

I shoved my plate away and stormed back to my room. 

**°°°Hermione°°°**

"Hermione, would you come down here a minute please?" my mother's voice called from down the stairs. I held my breath, figuring that it must have something to do with finding out that our security system had been disarmed the night before even though I'm almost positive that I activated it. But both of my parents were smiling when I reached the bottom of the stairs and my dad had a blindfold. 

"We've got a surprise for you," he said, tying it around my eyes. 

"What for?" I asked as they led me to only God knew where. 

"A late birthday gift," my mom explained. 

I felt the cool breeze of outside as they led me to what I guessed was the front yard. 

"Alright," said my father as he took off the blindfold. 

There in the driveway was a brand new white convertible with a red ribbon around it. I had just gotten my license the week before. 

"Oh my God, it's..." 

"Isn't it something?" my mom asked, hugging me happily. My father was leading me to it and taking off the ribbon. 

"It's..." I tried again, but was at a loss for words. My dad held the door open for me and handed me the keys. 

"First tank of gas is on us, why don't you take it for a spin?" 

I threw my arms around my parents and thanked them profusely with tears in my eyes. Then I got in and turned the key in the ignition. The car purred and backed out of our driveway as smooth as can be. 

I drove around downtown for awhile, debating where I should go. Lavender or Parvatti's? No, they'll see it at school and they can coo over it there. Then I decided to take it to the Weasley's and it wasn't long after, that I realized that that was where I had unconsciously been heading all along. 

The twins and Lee were skateboarding on the street when I arrived and Ron and Ginny were on the porch playing some card game. The seniors stopped their skateboarding when I pulled into the driveway and they came up to the car singing it's praise. 

"Wicked wheels, Mione!" Fred complemented, and I tried not to blush at him when he used my nickname. Ginny and Ron were still on the porch. They were talking in low voices and smiling at my new car as the other three began to circle it. 

"Hey, pop the hood," Fred ordered from the front of the car. 

"Pop the trunk," Lee echoed from behind. 

I did as requested and I soon heard voices from under the slabs of metal. 

"Look at this engine!" George exclaimed. 

"Look at this trunk space!" Lee added. 

The twins closed the hood and looked at Lee oddly. 

"What?" Lee asked, emerging from the trunk. "You could probably fit five people in there!" 

They laughed and closed the trunk as Ron and Ginny finally came off of the porch to get a better look. 

"Cool car, Mione!" Ron exclaimed. "When did you get it?" 

"Just a few minutes ago," I replied. I noticed that Ginny was holding the phone. "Do you want to go for a ride?" 

"Yeah," said Ron exuberantly and he got into the front seat. Ginny looked longingly at the back but ended up shaking her head. 

"Harry might call," she explained. 

Fred and George started teasing her about Harry and I raised an eyebrow at Ron who wasn't looking at me. I turned back to Lee and the twins. 

"What about you guys?" I asked. 

They consented at once but then Ron reminded them of a huge Spanish test that they were having tomorrow at school. The color drained from the twin's faces. 

"You guys have fun," they said, but they stayed on the driveway and watched us back out and we heard Lee yelling 'Vamos' at them from down the street. 

"So where do you want to go?" I asked Ron. 

"Anywhere," he replied. 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

I watched TV in my room all day and wasn't bothered by Sirius until about three in the afternoon when he knocked on my door. 

"Harry, I'm going to work," he called through the door when I refused to open it. "I'm leaving you something outside of your door. You may not want to see some of this stuff but it will help you understand your parents." 

I waited until I was sure that Sirius left then I opened the door. On the floor was a large cardboard box, and in the box were a bunch of home movies. I picked up the first one. Written in a handwriting that I didn't recognize was: 

'James: 2 years old.' 

With some difficulty, I dragged the box into my room and popped the video of my father as a two-year-old into my VCR. 

The movie was short and consisted of my father running around in circles until he fell over. Though I got a chuckle out of it, I soon grew bored of it and began searching through the box for another movie. 'James: 3 years old,' was the same as the first only now he was kicking a soccer ball around in a circle until he tripped over it and giggled uncontrollably. 

The next movie perked my interest when I read the unfamiliar scrawl. It said: 

'James and Sirius: 4 years old.' 

I popped it in. A park showed up on the screen and I heard a woman's voice, which I assumed belonged to my grandmother. 

"Are you getting him?" she asked someone behind the camera. 

"Where is he?" came a man's voice. 

"Under the monkey bars," replied the woman. With a wave of static, the camera shifted and I saw my father standing under the monkey bars with another unknown boy. 

"Who's the boy that he's with?" asked the man behind the camera. 

"I don't know," said the woman. 

My dad noticed his parents watching him and proceeded by grabbing the other boy's hand and leading him over. 

"Mommy, Daddy!" he shouted. "This is my friend, uh..." he stopped and turned back to the other boy. "What was your name again?" he asked him. 

"Sirius," the boy said softly, and I gasped. 

He was very dirty and thin. His hair fell to his shoulders and the brown shirt that he was wearing looked as though it had once been white. He seemed very jumpy around adults as if he expected them to punish him some how. 

My grandmother got down so that she was level with the boys. 

"Sirius," she said softly and Sirius shrank behind my father. "Where's your mommy and daddy?" 

"Mommy had been drinking the grown up drinks again and I spilled my milk, and she got mad at me and drove me to the supermarket," Sirius paused for breath here. "She told me to get out so I did, but she didn't get out with me; she drove away." He was still cowering behind my dad. 

My grandmother exchanged a worried glance with my grandfather who for some reason was still filming. Grandma turned back to Sirius, and I noticed that my dad was growing a bit impatient. He seemed to have realized the seriousness of the situation however because he stayed quiet and still though his gaze began to wander. 

"Sirius, honey, do you know your last name?" she asked him. 

Sirius nodded shyly. 

"Can you tell me please?" she asked. 

Sirius looked at my dad who told him that he could trust his mommy. 

"Black," Sirius said finally and my grandmother exchanged a knowing glance with my grandfather who also got down to the four-year-olds level. 

"Sirius," he said, "when did your mommy leave you at the store?" 

Sirius thought for a moment. 

"A few days ago, but she may come back someday soon!" 

The two adults started whispering but I couldn't make out what they were saying because of the static so I looked at the two boys. My dad put a comforting arm around Sirius. 

"Sirius," said my grandmother, tentatively taking Sirius's hand, "how about you come home with us? We'll clean you up and get you something to eat." 

"Yeah come home with us, Sirius!" my dad shouted. "You could be my new brother!" 

The movie went out with Sirius giving his first smile. 

I sat there for a long time, shocked by what I saw. I devoured all other movies after that. My grandparents had adopted Sirius and he was clean and happy with my father. I saw a memorable afternoon where my grandfather had the two five year olds in his arms and he was spinning them around in the back yard. I almost laughed because both boys were wearing tie-dyed shirts and had Beetle-like haircuts. And when my grandfather put them down I realized that Sirius's shirt said 'War is not the answer'. 

Next was a school recital when the boys were in the third grade, however it started with a girl with red hair singing sweetly. There was something familiar about that girl and I scooted closer to the TV, cursing the shitty cameras of the seventies. Suddenly two boys with black hair rushed out onto the stage. The one with the straight hair was playing a banjo very badly and the one with the messy hair was singing some weird song and dancing a jig. I realized who these two boys were just as the messy haired boy grabbed the red headed girl and started dancing with her. 

"James, you idiot!" she shouted, slapping my father across the face. My dad proceeded by trying to kiss her; he got a kick for that, and soon after the rest of their classmates joined them onstage for an all out brawl. A middle age woman tried to subdue them but having no luck at it, she merely raised the microphone and said wearily: 

"And that was Lily Evans singing our National Anthem accompanied by Sirius Potter on banjo and James Potter on vocals." 

That one sentence brought plenty of questions to my head. The girl was my mother and if Sirius had taken the Potter surname, then why did he switch it back to Black? 

The next couple of movies were about the same and I notice that by the Christmas when my dad and Sirius were ten, my grandfather had gone prematurely grey. By the late seventies, Sirius and my dad started making their own movies consisting of tricking other kids into doing dangerous stunts such as skateboarding by hanging off of a back of a station wagon, which I realized with a sinking feeling, a twelve-year-old Sirius was driving. The eighties brought their teen years along with heavy metal T-shirts and I realized that they had started talking like Keanu Reeves from that Bill and Ted movie. The pranks got worse and usually ended with some nerd rushing home near tears. Along with the prank movies came party movies which were pretty funny but made no sense because nearly everyone was drunk. I also noticed that two new people had joined the James and Sirius show. One was my eighth grade teacher, Remus Lupin. Though Remus was considerably calmer than my dad and Sirius, he fit in well with the group. The other I realized (with a jolt in my stomach) was Peter Pettigrew, the man who had killed my parents and framed Sirius. I wondered why the hell he was there with them but then soon realized that he was the butt of nearly all the jokes and pranks. I did not feel sorry for him. 

Then came the senior recital. My mother was singing again. She looked really beautiful and I wished more then ever that she were here with me. I caught myself smiling but my smile soon faded when a huge vat of blood was dumped upon my mother. It was like that movie 'Carrie' and I was disgusted. I nearly threw up when my father and Sirius came upon stage and announced to the world that they had done it. My dad abruptly stopped laughing when he saw how hurt my mother was. Sirius continued his laughing, as my dad became genuinely sorry for the first time in his life. 

The prank and party movies stopped and I soon found myself watching my parent's wedding. The last movie was a barbecue merely a few months after I was born. It started with Sirius and Remus fighting over whom got to hold me. My dad settled the matter by picking me up and kissing me on my cheek. Maybe it was de ja vu but I suddenly became happy. And that's where the movies ended. 

**

°°°Hermione°°°

**

Numerous bugs fluttered around the uncovered light bulb outside of the cheap motel. The bugs were annoying me and making it considerably harder for me to deal with my now angry parents. 

"How could you go so far on only one tank of gas?" my father inquired over the phone. "Weren't you paying attention to the road signs?" 

"Well, no," I admitted, playing with the pay phone's cord. "I didn't realize how far we had gone until we crossed the state line." 

My father sighed. 

"It's late and it'll take us all night to get to where you're at. You're at a motel right?" he asked. 

"Yeah," I said. 

"Well, use your emergency credit card and spend the night there. There's a friend with you right?" 

"Yeah," I said again, only this time a bit more slowly. 

"Well, you two share the same room, it'll be cheaper that way and I'll feel better if you were with someone at all times. Who's your friend's parents, do I need to call them?" 

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," I told my father, "and no, they're finding out now." 

I heard my mother's worried voice in the background. 

"It's alright, dear," my father told my mother, "Hermione and Ginny are just fine." 

I swallowed a lump in my throat and decided not to tell my dad that it was Ron that I was with and not Ginny. He'd get several speeding tickets if he knew that I was going to spend the night in a motel with a boy. 

"We should be there around seven tomorrow morning," he told me. "Make sure that you and Ginny are ready to go by then." 

"Er, thanks Dad," I told him, feeling guilty. 

"And Hermione," Dad started. 

"Yeah," I asked. 

"We'll finish this at home!" 

And after a quick goodbye he hung up. I walked over to where Ron was having his own problems. I could hear Mrs. Weasley's yells a foot away from the phone. Finally Ron hung up the phone looking very grim. 

"I'm grounded until I'm eighteen," he told me. "But Fred said that he and George will remind her of all the stupid things that they had done. Hopefully that will make her cut the date back a little." 

"I'm sorry about all of this Ron," I said. "This is all my fault." 

"No it isn't," said Ron, but I had started to cry anyway. 

He hugged me. 

"I'm starving," he announced suddenly. 

I pulled away from him, smiling slightly. 

"There's some vending machines over there." 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

It was past midnight when Sirius finally came home. I was waiting for him on the couch, the tapes were back in the box at my feet. He looked at me to the box and back again. 

"Thought that you'd be up," he said, kicking off his shoes and sitting in the Lazy Boy next to the couch. "So, do you hate us?" 

I took my time answering. 

"I did," I said truthfully. 

Sirius nodded. 

"I don't blame you. I hate how we were too." 

"I have a few questions," I told him. 

"Shoot." 

"You took on the Potter surname?" 

"Yep, Sirius Potter, that was me!" 

"Why did you change it back to Black?" I asked. 

Sirius didn't hesitate to reply. 

"When the cops started suspecting me, I changed it so I wouldn't muck up a good name." 

"That was nice of you," I told him. 

He shrugged. 

"It was the very least I could do. I owe everything to the Potters." 

"Did you ever hear from your real family?" I asked cautiously, not wanting to bring up touchy subjects. 

"No, they didn't care about me. Though, unbeknownst to James, I kept track of them. I got a baby brother only a few months after I left them. I didn't even know that she was pregnant." 

"What happened to him?" I asked. 

"Drugs," Sirius replied. "He's dead now. So are my folks." 

"Oh," I told Sirius. We sat in silence for a little while and I soon became tired and yawned. 

"Why don't we get some sleep?" Sirius asked. He too was yawning. 

"You can ask me all you want tomorrow after school." 

**

°°°Ron°°°

**

The candy bars were long gone and I was now trying to get comfortable on the hard, cold floor. It was dark and I saw Hermione's outline against the window. She was sitting up in bed. 

"Are you really going to be grounded until you're eighteen?" she asked. 

I propped myself up on my elbow. 

"No, that's just Mom over-reacting as usual. Fred and George are grounded for life as we speak. I'll probably just get a week or so." 

Hermione was looking at me, but I couldn't see her face because of the darkness. 

"Spider," she said suddenly, pointing next to me. I looked at where her finger lead and saw a huge spider only a foot or so away from me. 

I cursed loudly and jumped up to join Hermione in the bed. My heart was racing and I was breathing loudly. It took me several moments before I realized that Hermione's face was very close to mine. 

"Maybe you should just stay in bed with me?" she suggested slowly in a whisper. Her face was so close that I felt her warm breath against my cheek. I slowly turned my head toward hers as she placed the covers over my legs. A minute later we were still sitting up, our foreheads touching one another. Then she put her arms around me and slowly pulled me down with her. Minutes later my heart rate was still going fast, but it wasn't because of the spider. 

**Another Author's Note:** Cliffhanger, sort of. Hope you guys liked this chapter. It is kind of long but, hey, long chapters are good. I had something else to tell you guys but I forgot. Please, Please, Please review!!!!!!!!! 


	8. I Need to Brush my Teeth

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Serendipity7_

**Author's Note:** I have several announcements that I would like to make before I get started with the story. First, I was going to change my name to something completely original so that I wouldn't just have a number behind my name, but then I saw that the number that they have given me is seven and seven just happens to be my lucky number so I shall keep the name serendipity7 for the time being. Second, I have decided to concentrate on one of my stories at a time and not move onto another until the one that I am working on is finished. And with **Hogwarts High** having the most reviews and being by far the easiest and most fun to write, I will only write **Hogwarts High** until it is finished. It will end at the end of their sophomore year and if you guys want I may start a sequel (probably their junior or maybe senior year) when I finish catching up on a few of my other stories. I have already decided to move onto **Without Harry** when I'm done with this cuz it has many reviews and it's just a short fluffy fic that only has a few more chapters until it is finished anyway, then onto **Anthem** which is probably going to be long and is already complicated. Lastly, I have decided to start an e-mailing list to all of you who wished to by notified when I update to **Hogwarts High**. All you have to do is tell me and leave your e-mail address in a review and I'll add you to my list and automatically e-mail you as soon as I update every chapter of **Hogwarts High**. 

**Author's Comment:** That was one HUGE author's note! 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters except for Billy Beerbomb but I'm not even sure if he'll be in this chapter or not so I don't know why I told you that. Oh, and I don't own Mc Donald's either, though one of my friends works there. 

Chapter Eight

_I need to brush my teeth_

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

It was storming when I reached the Weasley beach house, which was just my luck. I had tried to go to sleep after my conversation with Sirius but every time I closed my eyes I saw that vat of blood being poured upon my mom. So without thinking I got up, dressed and found my self wandering the streets at 2 in the morning and needing desperately to talk to someone. I stood in the rain and stared at the house for a few minutes before going to a window and tapping lightly on it. 

Fred, wearing normal pajamas this time, opened the window and looked at me curiously. George was sitting up in his bed, writing in a notebook. 

"Oh, sorry wrong window," I told Fred. "I didn't mean to wake you guys." 

"Nonsense!" Fred said, waving me off as if Ron's friends came by their window nightly. "George and I were just thinking of some pranks and when we should do them. We were debating whether there'll be a unplanned fire drill tomorrow or if we should parachute off of the school's roof," he confessed, motioning to where George was still pondering over the notebook. 

I smiled, glad that I didn't wake them. 

"Anywho," Fred continued, turning back to me. "Ron's window in the second on your left, but don't waste your time, he's not home." 

I didn't register what Fred had said because it was then that I realized that I wanted Ginny and not Ron. George seemed to have read my mind. 

"Ginny's is the first one on your left, if it's her that you're looking for," he said from his bed. Fred turned toward him and seemed discouraged. 

"George, don't lead our baby sister's somewhat boyfriend to her bedroom late at night!" he scolded. 

George looked up from the notebook. 

"Fred, Ginny's bed is like right there," he said pointing to the wall. "If I hear anything, which I'll warn you now that I will, I'll be in there to beat the shit out of Harry." 

This seemed to satisfy Fred. 

"Alright, but make sure you're out of there before mom gets up," he told me. "She's already having kittens over Ron spending the night in a motel with Hermione!" 

I had turned to leave when Fred told me about where Ron was staying. I stopped and turned back to them abruptly. 

"What?" I asked alarmed. "What's this about Ron and Hermione in a motel?" 

Fred smiled slyly and told me that Hermione had gotten a new car and her and Ron went for a drive to the next state. We had a good laugh before we said goodbye and Fred closed the window. I then went over to Ginny's window and tapped softly. I was about to leave when she finally opened it. 

"Harry!" she exclaimed. She was giving me a worried look because I was soaking wet. I couldn't remember how to talk so I just stood there looking confused and wet. After a long silence she continued: 

"Well if you think that after you spend a night kissing me then not calling me, that I'd just take you into my room late at night and do you, then you're greatly mistaken!" 

"I didn't come here for that," I said, my voice a bit scratchy for some reason. 

"Oh," Ginny replied. It was then that she noticed that I was distressed about something. "Well, come in," she said, standing aside as I crawled through. "Give me your clothes, I don't want you dripping all over my room," she said once the window was closed. 

I gave her my wet jacket, shirt, and pants to put in the dyer across the hall and I placed my wet shoes in her empty trash bin to dry off there. She came back from the laundry room with a clean towel and she threw it onto my head and began drying my hair for me as I sat on her desk. After a minute, she took the towel off my head and looked at me. I was crying for some reason. 

"Harry, what...?" 

I told her of the conversation that I had with Sirius that morning and of the movies. She was silent the whole time, listening patiently. 

"Well, you know, they weren't like that once you were born," she said reasonably. 

I nodded. 

"Yeah, I know, but that's not what's bothering me," I told her. 

"Then what's bothering you?" she asked. 

"I just wish that I knew them, that's all," I told her. "I know that it's a stupid thing to cry about but..." 

"It's not stupid!" Ginny said, placing a hand on my cheek. She then grabbed my hand and led me to her bed. We lied down and she put her arm around me and rested her head on my chest. I fell asleep within minutes. 

**°°°Hermione°°°**

I woke up in Ron's arms and smiled at his sleeping form, my hand absentmindedly playing with the fabric of his shirt. He looked so peaceful sleeping there and I was filled with a weird warm feeling in the pit of my stomach when I thought of the night before. I still don't know what made me kiss him, but I thoroughly enjoyed the make out session that had followed. I was suddenly aware that I, little miss independent, had fallen for my best friend's older brother and I enjoyed that feeling. Something told me that this relationship with Ron was right, especially since he didn't pressure me to do more then what I was ready for. 

I brought my face closer to his and nuzzled foreheads with him before, placing a light kiss on his lips. Slowly he opened his eyes and smiled at me, bringing me closer for a more proper good morning kiss. Unfortunately that kiss didn't last because we began hearing someone putting a key in the lock of the door. We both sat up in bed, alarm as my dad came through the door, closely followed by Mr. Weasley. My father was smiling when he first came in but he was now looking livid. 

"What the hell is going on here?" he shouted. 

"We didn't do anything, Daddy!" I exclaimed but it didn't matter because my dad was already trying to kill Ron. Mr. Weasley was trying to get between my father and a cowering Ron. 

"Come on now Jake, I believe the kids," Mr. Weasley told my father. "Look, they're fully clothed and everything!" Ron began nodding frantically behind Mr. Weasley. My father seemed to settle down over this. 

"Alright," he said, looking at me. "Well, let's get some breakfast." 

The two adults walked ahead, debating about which diner we should drop into as Ron and I lingered behind. He smiled at me and took my hand. I knew that I would be grounded for at least a week but it was worth it. 

**

°°°George°°°

**

"So we're going for the fire drill today?" Fred asked me in our first hour government class. We were checking over our detailed prank schedules while Lee was busy drawing on the bored. 

"Yeah," I confirmed. "I think that I'll ask to go to the bathroom at the beginning of Spanish and I'll pull it then, that way we post pone our test until tomorrow." 

Fred nodded. 

"Oh, George, I think we put too many pranks on Thursday." 

"We did?" I asked, flipping my planner to Thursday. 

"Yeah, listen, we blow up a toilet before the first bell, then we 'accidentally' dump peroxide on Snape in chemistry..." 

"Wait!" I interrupted him. "I think we used the last of our peroxide last week." 

He thought about this for a moment. 

"Well, we'll think of something and if not, we'll just drop it." 

"Yeah." 

"Then," he continued, "we let a pig loose in the school at lunch and end the day by switching Draco's mousse with whip cream after soccer practice." 

We pondered our schedule for a moment before we both decided that we'd go through with everything as planned and if it's too much we'll drop something in the afternoon. That's when the classroom door opened and Principal Dumbledore walked in with Billy." 

Billy sat in front of Fred. He seemed sober. 

"How'd you escape rehab this time, Billy?" Fred asked him. 

"My dad," Billy said. 

"Alright, time to read off the tardies that need to be made up," Mr. Vector announced up at the podium. 

"Anderson, two tardies. Beerbomb, 21 tardies. That's one for every day that school has been in session!" 

There was a round of applause as Billy pushed Mr. Vector out of the way in front of the podium to make his acceptance speech. 

**°°°Harry°°°**

"Hey, Pothead, where's Weasel III and Granger today? I haven't seen either of them," Draco whispered across the aisle as we were taking our Romeo & Juliet tests in English. 

"Shut up, Malfoy, I'm trying to take my test," I told him. If he knew that Ron and Hermione had spent the night in a motel the whole school would know before lunch, and that's saying something seeing as lunch was in 20 minutes. 

"Okay, okay. Speaking of the test, what did you get for number 17? I was thinking B but now C sounds right too." 

"Really," I said, pausing from number 19. "I got D for number 17." 

"D? Hmm, hey Seamus!" 

Seamus looked around at us. 

"What did you get for number 17?" Draco asked him. 

Seamus looked at his paper before turning back to us. 

"A," he told us. 

Draco and I both swore. 

"Do I hear talking?" Mr. Flitwick asked, looking up from grading third hour's tests. 

**°°°Ginny°°°**

I stopped in the bathroom to fix my hair and makeup before getting my food today. I wanted to look nice today, since Harry and I were technically going out now. I was just finishing my lip gloss when I felt a tap on the shoulder. I rolled my eyes. How many times do I have to tell these druggies that I don't have a light? I turned around and gasped when I saw Hermione. She was smiling playfully while finishing up a large coke from Mc Donald's. 

"Hey, when did you get back?" I asked her, putting my make up in my purse as we walked out of the bathroom. 

"Just now," she said. I began making my way to the salad bar but she grabbed my arm. "I need to talk to you," she said, leading me to a deserted hallway. 

"What is it?" I asked. Normally I would be worried but the smile on her face told me that it was good news. That's when it hit me that she was with Ron all night. "Did you tell him?" I asked. 

She nodded. 

"Well I mostly showed him, but..." 

"Oh my God you didn't like...sleep with him did you?" I just can't think of any of my brothers doing that. It's too disturbing. 

"No! Of course not!" Hermione exclaimed. "But we're now officially together. What about you and Harry?" she asked. 

I smiled. 

"Why don't I go get a few granola bars from the cafeteria and we can talk about all of this outside?" I suggested. 

"Alright." 

**°°°Ron°°°**

We only had five minutes left of Spanish after the 'fire drill' which I have to say is pretty brilliant of my brothers. Turns out that even with all the studying that they did last night, they still can't remember anything so they strategically placed it at the beginning of fifth period. By the time the whole school got outside and was counted and sorted and all that crap, the hour was almost over. Which suited me just fine. So far that day I woke up ate breakfast drove in a car ate lunch and stood outside and talked to Harry and my brothers while our teachers made sure that everyone made it out alive. Draco Malfoy was in a group next to ours. He had Satan, which reminded me that Hermione has had It all weekend. Maybe that was a good thing; I'd probably forget about the kid. 

After Spanish, Harry and I went to our biology II class and were pleased to find out that we were having a sub. Some new sub that I haven't had before too. I was glad because I was tired of the kind old lady who kept calling us 'sweet children' and 'old beans' and of course who could forget the time when she called Draco Malfoy a 'funny bunny'. But anyway, this sub was in his forties and seemed greatly depressed about something. He gave us a mournful glare as he finished roll call. 

"Alright those of you who want to go into the computer lab (we had a computer lab adjoined to all the science rooms) to play games can, and those who wish to stay in here and work on stuff for other classes can do that too." 

And with that he sat at his desk and picked up his Wonder Woman comic. Harry and I ambled out to the computer lab with the rest of the class but were discouraged at the fact that all of the good sites at our school were blocked. Not to mention that Lavender was bothering us. She seemed to be all of the sudden really interested in the anatomy of men. 

"So," she said in a low whisper, "if you squeeze one ball does the other one get bigger?" 

That's when we got fed up with it. We looked at one another and left. The sub looked up from his comic when we entered the room but said nothing as we sat down at our table and Harry handed over his notes from the morning classes that I missed. We were talking quietly amongst ourselves when the sub came over and leaned on our table, sighing. 

"I'm having problems," he told us. 

"Er...really?" Harry asked, unsure of what else to say. 

"Yeah, you would think wouldn't you that a 45-year-old woman would be more mature than her 18-year-old son? But no! I just don't know what to do. Should I just call it off or should we just spend some time apart? Oh, I can't think about this right now, I just can't deal with it. I can't deal with anything! Why isn't this class over? I can't just sit here for another twenty minutes! That's it, I'm leaving, you guys can just do whatever you want!" 

And with that he grabbed his comics and left. Harry and I just looked at each other for a moment before going back to our homework and note copying. 

"So," Harry said, after about five minutes of silence. "You and Hermione in a motel for the night?" 

"Fred and George told you I expect?" I asked, not looking up from my notebook. 

"Yeah, but don't worry, I'm the only one outside of your family who knows." 

I nodded, not really caring if he knew because I was planning on telling him anyway. 

"I'm grounded for a week," I announced. 

Harry nodded. He looked as if he wanted to ask me something, but was unsure of whether or not he should. 

"Hermione and I are a couple now," I mentioned as though I were commenting the weather. 

He smiled at me. 

"It's about time!" 

Just then a discouraged Dean came in. 

"What's wrong with you?" I asked him. 

He sighed and took out his geometry homework next to me. 

"Lavender just asked what would happen if I squeezed one of my balls." 

**Another Author's Note:** Okay before you guys start throwing rotten food at me...I know that this chapter sucks and that it ended VERY abruptly. But this is the first chapter that I didn't fully 100% enjoy writing. Normally when this happens I just look at it from a different angle and write it completely different, but I couldn't do that for this one because what happened needed to happen to tie up the loose ends that I left hanging at the end of last chapter so that the story can flow more smoothly and move on to bigger and better things. So I just typed and this is what I got. But I'm going to start chapter nine and it'll be posted really soon so don't worry. Oh and I just want to apologize for the title of this chapter. I name all of my chapter weird things and I usually change them...I believe that I forgot to change the title of chapter three of this story (Get to it Later). But anyway I just opened this up to HTML it and I noticed that I titled this 'I need to brush my teeth' I thought that it was funny so I kept it for lack of a better title. 


	9. Busy Thursday

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Serendipity7_

**Author's Note:** Ah, chapter nine. Um...a plot is sort of forming for this story. I know how it's most likely going to end anyway. The ending will leave things way open for a sequel if you guys want one, which I think you will. It's Saturday night and I will be posting this chapter in two days and yet I'm not much farther in chapter ten then when I was last week. School has kept me busy and I'm worn out even as we speak. But never fear, I'm sure that chapter ten will be finished by the time I need to post it. 

**Disclaimer:** Don't own the HP characters...don't own the band Atticus (though you should all listen to their music, they're brilliant!)...sadly I don't own Brad Pitt either (Jennifer's very lucky!)... 

Chapter Nine

_Busy Thursday_

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

Thursday morning the boys and I stood in the men's room, eating our breakfasts and watching curiously as Fred and George dropped a cherry bomb in one of the toilets. There was a loud explosion along with a sudden wave of water and I suddenly realized that Fred and George were geniuses to provide everyone with slickers. Ron gave a lugubrious stare at his now soggy pop tart and threw it in the bin. 

It hadn't even been a week since we both got girlfriends and yet it seemed like it's been years. Seeing as Ron was grounded for a week (Hermione had only gotten two days of punishment, I guess her parent's aren't used to punishing her) I have been spending most of my time with Ginny. We mainly just hung out at the apartment and watched TV, sometimes accompanied by Sirius. Sirius had later informed me that it was sort of de ja vu seeing me and Ginny together because I'm nearly the spitting image of my father and she is very similar to my mother with her red hair. As for Ron's relationship with Hermione, well so far with Ron being grounded, it has consisted mostly of holding hands and stealing kisses at school, though Fred had confided in me the day before that Ron had been sneaking out at night to visit her. I didn't know what was going on during those midnight rendezvous and didn't think that it was any of my business to ask. 

After a polite applause we all ditched our slickers and left the bathroom before some teacher walked in to see what the commotion was about. Not wanting to be anywhere in near vicinity of the bathroom we all just decided to make our way to our first hour classes. Draco and I headed off to the west wing of the school while the others made their way to the east wing. 

I had to hand it to Draco; he was being really good about this whole me going out with Ginny thing. He was even more tolerable than usual, to everyone. It also made me a bit nervous. Draco never backs down from what he wants and if he wants Ginny, then he would get her. But at the moment, he was acting like a normal person. 

"I've got Satan," he said, indicating his backpack. "We turn him in today." 

"Yeah," I confirmed. 

"You know I'm going to miss the little guy," he added, almost wistfully as we entered the classroom and placed Satan in the box that Snape set out which had 'baby drop off' scrawled on it. "I think that we are going to get a good grade. He hardly cried for me." 

I nodded, still in thought over this sudden change. The bell rang and we waited the five minutes as the class slowly filled up. Then it was all back to normal. Snape did roll and Draco got out of class because he couldn't find his Atticus CD. 

**

°°°Draco°°°

**

After ten minutes of searching, I found my Atticus CD oddly enough in Pansy's locker. Then I remembered that I used to drop off some of my junk in her locker when we were still going out. I wondered vaguely for a minute how she was but then shrugged and decided that I really didn't care anyway. 

I had decided to let Potter have some fun with Weasel IV for awhile so that it would be more of a challenge stealing her away. I also decided to take a break from girls in general for at least a week. I had already used up my freshmen play toys and I was discouraged at the fact that it was only the beginning of October and I only had three more classes of girls to go through; not to mention that I've been through about half the girls in my class anyway. 

After returning my CD back to my locker, I dropped into the nurses office (haven't been there all week, Mrs. Pomfrey must have been missing me terribly!) said my hellos and took my complementary lollipop before sauntering into the men's room to check up on the damaged toilet. No teacher seemed to have noticed it, but the Weasel Twins were still there, heads tilted to the side as they stroked their chins thoughtfully. 

"Look at the angle at which that pipe comes up," one (I still for the life of me can't tell them apart) said as if he were commenting on some piece of artwork. I looked to where he was pointing. 

"Yes, it's remarkable," I said disinterested and trying not to yawn. I noticed that they both had passes and nearly laughed. They considered themselves pranksters but they hardly ever broke any rules. Couldn't they even just make some lame excuse to leave class and wander the halls aimlessly as I do? 

They were both looking at me but none of us were talking. It was a very weird moment. 

"I have some peroxide that you two can use if you want. I've been hearing that you're looking for some so I brought it to school today. It's in my locker," I declared. 

They looked at me suspiciously. 

"And what do we have to do for it?" one of them (why did they have to be identical?) asked. 

I shrugged. 

"Nothing," I said, and for once it was the truth. "I get a chuckle out of your pranks just as much as the next person and as long as I know that it's going to a good cause, I can part with one bottle of peroxide!" 

They turned and began conversing in low whispers. I stared at my reflection while they talked it over. Finally they turned back around. 

"Alright," one of them (they should wear nametags) said. "Let's go to your locker." 

**°°°Hermione°°°**

"I'm so happy!" I exclaimed in PE for what had to be the hundredth time that week. Ginny rolled her eyes and smiled at me. We were standing in a long line of girls, waiting our turn at trying to kick the soccer ball into the goal. The boys were on a different field doing archery again. I could vaguely make out the forms of Ron, Harry, and what appeared to be Draco having sword fight with some arrows. I began daydreaming about spending time with Ron until I was forced back to reality by Ginny tapping my arm. "Huh?" I asked. 

"You're next," she told me, and feeling a bit embarrassed at making people wait I went up and kicked the ball. It wasn't so bad. I didn't make a goal but I would have were Mrs. Hooch not being goalie. I went off to the side and a minute later was joined again by Ginny (she made the goal by the way) who was looking bemused. 

"It's hard to believe that my brother is the one that caused this sudden euphoria in you," she said incredulously shaking her head. 

"You have no idea!" I told her excitedly. "I feel like reaching out and doing something nice for someone!" 

Ginny laughed but at that very moment Principal Dumbledore came strolling across the field with a girl beside him. She was slouched over because she was holding her books close to her chest as though trying to shield herself from our eyes. She had frizzy bright red hair and was wearing baggy clothes that might have been in style three years ago. I tried to get a good look at her face but was unable to seeing as her glasses took up most of it. Principal Dumbledore stopped and conversed with Mrs. Hooch in low whispers. She nodded and announced to the class that we were getting a new student. 

"This is Noelle," she said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. A few of the nicer girls mumbled some form of hello, but many had begun whispering insults about the poor girl. I looked at Ginny who nodded and we waved her over. 

"Hi," we both said when she came near to us. 

"Hi," she said, smiling shyly. 

"I'm Ginny and this is Hermione," Ginny said, indicating the two of us. "So when did you move here, Noelle?" 

"Last week," Noelle replied. 

"Well, welcome to Hogwarts High, you'll love it here!" I told her, but she was looking around at some of the other girls as though she was unsure of whether or not she would. 

**

°°°Fred°°°

**

Snape didn't like his new hair color and sent both George and I to the office. Dumbledore was busy showing a new girl to her class so we were bored. 

"Got any twos?" I asked George. 

"Go fish." 

**

°°°Ginny°°°

**

"Those are the druggies," Hermione pointed out at lunch as we took Noelle for a tour of our school's cliques. Noelle looked at the group of kids on the grassy lot all of whom were listening to Billy Beerbomb's latest tale of rehab avidly. 

"And those are the jocks," I said, pointing in the opposite direction. "You can play a sport in this school but the jocks are the ones who join every sport and are permanently glued to their varsity jackets." 

Noelle laughed. 

"And who is that group?" she asked pointing to a group who were under a tree. 

"That's our group," I told her. "The two girls are Lavender and Parvatti, both of whom are very nice but you can only talk to them for so long before you find yourself bored. And the boys sitting next to them are their boyfriends, Seamus and Dean." 

"The four boys playing hackey sack next to the table are Ron, Harry, Neville, and Draco. Ginny, when did Draco start hanging out with us?" Hermione asked me. 

"I have no clue; he must be lost," I replied. 

"Speaking of lost, where are your other brothers?" Hermione asked. 

That's when I noticed Fred and George's absence. 

"Hmm, they're probably up to no good," I said as we came to our clique. 

Harry and Ron stopped playing hackey sack right away and told us that they'll get us some chicken nuggets from the cafeteria. I thought that they were taking this boyfriend thing a bit too seriously but I didn't say anything. 

Draco also stopped playing hackey sack and after giving Noelle a disgusted look, he asked what was for lunch. 

"Chicken nuggets," Hermione told him as we sat down. 

He thought for a moment before mumbling something about the school's chicken nuggets being edible and began walking off. 

"Do you want chicken nuggets?" I asked Noelle. 

"Er...sure," she replied. 

"Hey, Draco!" I called to Draco's receding back. He turned around. "Would you get Noelle a plate of chicken nuggets too, please?" I asked him. I expected him to say no but he merely shrugged and nodded before walking off again. 

"What's gotten into Draco lately?" Hermione asked incredulously. 

"I don't know," said George as he and Fred finally joined us at the table. They took out their prank planner. "But I think we'll save the switching his mousse for whip cream to a later date," he told Fred. "I mean, if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have been able to give Snape a makeover!" 

Fred nodded his consent and they both scratched off the last planned prank for the day. 

"What do you mean, give Snape a make over?" Lavender asked. 

Fred pointed to the other side of the lunch yard to where Principal Dumbledore, Mrs. McGonagall, and a now bleached blonde Snape were chasing after a pig. Principal Dumbledore tripped over his beard. 

Noelle laughed. 

"Is your school always like this?" she asked. 

The twins seemed to just notice her. 

"Who are you?" they asked simultaneously. 

"Fred, George, this is Noelle," I told them. "She's a new sophomore." 

They nodded their helloes as the boys returned, placing the plates of food in front of the people that they got them for. We ate and talked for awhile. The boys finished before us and they all left the table to go off and play hackey sack yet again. Us girls talked about Brad Pitt for awhile until Noelle changed the subject. 

"So you all have boyfriends?" she asked and we all nodded. "Oh," she said glumly. 

"I'm sure that we can find someone for you," said Lavender goodheartedly. "Now, let's see who's singe?" 

"Neville," suggested Parvatti. 

Hermione and I both shook our heads. 

"I think he and Hannah Abbot have something going on," Hermione said thoughtfully. 

"Ginny, what about Fred and George?" Parvatti asked. 

I shook my head. 

"Fred has been in love with Angelina since he was five and George isn't the steady type. His idea of a date is a party where he'll most likely spill beer on you." 

Lavender had begun naming off every boy she knew. 

"Justin, Colin, Ernie, wait! I've got it! Draco!!!" 

"Yeah!" Parvatti and very surprisingly Hermione exclaimed. 

"He just broke up with Pansy!" Lavender added to confirm that he was the perfect choice. 

Noelle looked dreamily over to where Draco was playing hackey sack with the others. 

"Well he is good looking, and he seems nice," she said. The rest of us made faces to one another as if saying 'For today'. "But I don't think that I'm really his type," she added shyly. "I mean, I'm not very pretty." 

"Of course you are!" said Hermione and Lavender nodded. 

"We just need to clean you up a bit," Parvatti stated. 

"Yeah, makeover!" Lavender squealed. "What do you say?" 

"Well..." Noelle said, drawing the word out as she sent another dreamy glance at Draco. "Sure, why not?" 

Hermione looked at me while the other girls began to giggle uncontrollably. 

"Are you going to help us, Ginny?" she asked and she seemed to be testing me about something. 

"Of course," I said, though I didn't really want to. I wasn't sure that I wanted anyone to go out with Draco. 

**

°°°Draco°°°

**

There was only twenty minutes left until the final bell rang and I was trying desperately to stay awake in History. Potter and I had been playing poker for awhile but he soon grew tired and wished to take a nap before we went to soccer practice. After awhile I couldn't take listening to Mr. Binn's dull voice so I snuck out of the class and found myself wandering the halls yet again. 

I walked down the art hallway to admire the new portraits when I saw it. On the bulletin board was a flyer for a Halloween dance in the school's gym. I groaned. I would have to make an appearance at it and I would need a date too. I spent the rest of seventh period pondering whether I should just pick some random girl or try to get Weasel the IV to leave Potter behind. 

**Author's Note: This is one of my most favorite chapters. Is most favorite correct grammar? You have to excuse me...I have a head cold. I'm sorry that I didn't get to posting this on Monday as I had planned, I tried to but FF.Net must have been having problems (or my computer just sucks) so I gave up intending on posting it on Tuesday...but I was sick with my head cold (IT WAS TERRIBLE) on Tuesday and still wasn't feeling quite like myself yesterday so... **


	10. Halloween

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Serendipity7_

**Author's Note:** Sorry that this chapter took me so long to write. As most of you know, I had a severe case of writer's block. And I mean severe! I didn't even feel like writing and a few times I even thought about giving up writing for good...as in getting rid of my account at fanfiction!!! But don't worry, I realized that writing is part of who I am. It made me feel better and it also helped me improve with my grammar and vocabulary. I don't think that I'd ever be able to fully give it up because it just makes me so damn happy. Now, on with the story. 

**Disclaimer:** You guys know the whole drill by now. I don't own ...Hot Topic...the song Lady Marmalade 

Chapter Ten

_Halloween_

**°°°Hermione°°°**

Beep. 

'Oh no!' I thought to myself as I heard the first bell ring. It was Friday and I had come to history a half an hour early to take my test. Most of the class came early actually. You need to if you actually want to finish the test. So there I was working frantically to get done and the first bell rang, signaling that I only had fifty more minutes for 150 questions. 

Beep. 

The late bell rang which made me work even faster because it seemed like only a minute had passed since the first bell instead of the usual five. 

"Well that's odd," Mr. Binns announced from his desk. Looking up out of curiosity, I saw him looking at the clock. Following his gaze I saw that it was only quarter to eight and the first bell wasn't supposed to ring until five to eight. I barely had time to breathe in a breath of relief when the three tones signaling an announcement on the intercom sounded. It was closely followed by the nasal voice of one of our old secretaries: 

"Announcement, the bells are not working properly." 

The bell beeped just after the announcement was over. I looked at Ron who was smiling in amusement over the whole thing and I was about to go back to my test when the bells sounded once again. 

"Announcement, the bells..." Beep! The bell cut off the secretary before she could finish. 

"Announcement," Beep! It happened a second time and some kids (Ron included) had started laughing. 

The bell beeped several more times before Principal Dumbledore got on the intercom and said, "Can everybody HEAR me?" dragging out the word 'hear' in a playful manner. Seamus was laughing so hard that he fell off of his seat. After five more beeps from the bell, the few kids from our class who had not come early walked in looking rather bemused. 

"What was that all about?" Pansy asked as she picked up her test and a number two pencil. 

"What the bells?" Mr. Binns asked her. 

"No, we were all just sitting out in the commons just like we do every morning and this secretary comes in and starts yelling at us to get to class and that we were five minutes late. But none of us heard the bell or any announcements or anything." 

"Hmm, odd," commented Mr. Binns and we all fell back into silence and tried to finish our tests with Seamus giggling every now and then. 

**

°°°Fred°°°

**

"Oh just go and ask her already!" George exclaimed out of frustration. We (along with the rest of the class) had arrived at our first hour government class late. This set back confused our old lady sub who was trying to find the day's schedule and having no luck. The rest of us weren't making any attempts to help her and most of us had started long, drawn out conversations. George and I were taking a day off of our pranks since we did so many the day before so our conversation was about the Halloween dance. 

We had decided that morning in Old Betsy that we were going to go (mainly to watch after Ginny) and I had spent the rest of the morning debating on whether or not I should ask Angelina to the dance. We had gone to almost every dance together and had hooked up on several occasions but remained just friends for the better part of our high school careers, and now I thought that it was high time to make it official. I just didn't know how. 

"Listen, just ask her to the dance like you normally do. You can ask her to be your girlfriend there or something." 

"I dunno." 

"Just do it!" 

"Why?" 

"Because I said so." 

So I took a deep breath and walked over to where Angelina was sitting... 

**

°°°Draco°°°

**

The new girl, Noelle, is in our English class and sits next to Granger. I may not have gotten a good look at her yesterday but she definitely looks different...better even. I nearly fell out of my seat when she walked into class today wearing a lacy skirt and very fashionable blouse. Her hair appeared to be a darker shade of red and it was straightened and cut into a chin-length bob. There was also the absence of her glasses and I noticed that her eyes were grey like mine are. 

She smiled at me before talking in low whispers with Granger. Potter and Weasel III noticed me staring at her so I averted my eyes instead to my test that Mr. Flitwick was just passing back. I noticed that I got an A- on it so I stuffed it away before anyone noticed. Can't let them know that I'm smart now can I? 

We started a grammar lesson, which I didn't pay attention to. I found myself looking at Noelle and had to force myself to look away. Finally blessed lunch came. After getting my food, I headed to my normal table by Goyle and them but someone called out my name when I was half way there. I turned around and saw that the voice had come from Noelle. She was walking with Weasel IV and Granger. 

"Come and sit with us!" she shouted. Granger and Weasel IV smiled at me and I was shocked. I even got a warm reception when I sat at their table for the second day in a row. Well it was about as warm as expected. Potter gave me a rude glare and I'm sure that Weasel III would have but he was too busy drooling over Granger, and the Weasel twins were arguing over who was going to be what at the Halloween dance. 

"I'm going to be a demon!" 

"No! I am!" 

"I am!" 

"No, it was my idea!" 

"Well I'm older!" 

"By two minutes!" 

I drowned them out. 

"So what are you going to be, Draco?" Noelle asked me. 

"I haven't thought about it yet," I told her. 

"I'm going to be a witch," Granger announced. 

"Hey, I was going to be a witch!" Weasel IV exclaimed. 

"You can be an angel," Granger explained. "It will go good with Harry's knight in shining armor." 

I snorted into my goulash. Potter glared at me. 

"Hey, Ron!" one of the Weasel twins yelled. "We've decided that all the Weasley men are going to be demons so you have to be one too!" 

"Fine," Ron said through a mouthful of food. 

**°°°George°°°**

"You two get in the van now or else I'm leaving with out you!" dad yelled at Ron and I as he passed the bathroom that we, along with Fred, were currently getting ready in. It was the night of the Halloween dance and as planned all the Weasley men (except dad) were dressed as demons...or something similar to it. We all wore red and black clothes that we bought from Hot Topic (a cool store though we don't buy too much from it normally) and had our red hair spiked so messily that mom cringed when she saw it. Ginny even applied black eye shadow around our eyes to give us a haunted, gaunt look. 

Fred, who in my opinion was applying way too much aftershave, bid us farewell as we rushed out of the bathroom. I had given him the liberty of having Old Betsy to himself for the night since he had a date. I was going solo and glad of it too. Who would want to dance with just one girl all night? 

We ran into mom and Ginny in the kitchen. Ginny was wearing a long, white dress that tied around the neck and exposed her back on which mom was currently painting angel wings on. Both Ron and I stopped and looked at her. 

"Oh Ginny, you look great. I would dance with you if I knew how," I complemented. Ginny smiled and Ron rolled his eyes impatiently. 

"Let's go!" he said, grabbing a hold of my red tie and dragging me out to the garage where dad was waiting in the family van. Dad started the engine and we went to pick up Hermione. She was wearing an outfit of what appeared to be fishnets, ripped pieces of cloth for the dress part, and a corset. Ron looked like a goldfish staring at her and dad started up a rousing rendition of Lady Marmalade. 

We were half way to the dance when Hermione's cell phone rang. 

"Yeah he's here," she said, sounding very bemused. Then she handed the phone to me. 

"Hello?" I asked. 

"George? Is that you George?" asked a raspy voice. At first I thought that it was someone playing a joke but it was actually just Lee calling to tell me that he wasn't going to go to the dance due to a case of strep throat. I returned Hermione's phone glumly. Fred, Ron, and Ginny all had dates, Lee was sick, and Billy landed in rehab yet again. Who was I going to hang around with when I wasn't spiking punch or dancing with girls? 

**

°°°Draco°°°

**

My fascination with Weasel IV had dispersed (for now), I wasn't about to go crawling back to Pansy, and no other girl caught my eye, therefore I went to the dance alone. It was only a few minutes until I found one of the Weasel Twins (he later clarified that he was George) and we took dateless girls for a spin around the dance floor for a good half an hour before we grew weary of their boring babble. After having no success at prying his twin away from the lovely Angelina he decided to let me accompany him on the spiking of the punch. And I have to say that I felt very honored indeed. Forty five minutes later the ex-convict (who let him chaperon?) came up to us, scowling. 

"You spiked the punch didn't you?" he asked sternly. 

"Yeah," replied George with a smirk. 

The ex-convict gasped. 

"And you didn't invite me to help?" 

After a short discussion with the convict, George got pulled to the dance floor by Katie and left me alone. I soon found the Dream Team and was going to torment them when I saw the new girl next to them. She was wearing the same medieval hooker costume that Granger was wearing only in a different color and she stopped me in my tracks when she looked up and smiled at me. No one ever smiles at me! A slow song came on and the Dream Team went onto the dance floor, leaving Noelle alone. 

"Just ask her to dance already," the ex-convict muttered, pushing me towards her. I nearly tripped but caught myself just in time. 

"Er...hi." I said, feeling stupid for the first time in my life. 

"Hi," she said, shyly. 

I motioned to the dance floor and she took my hand and followed me out. My stomach felt weird. Maybe it was what mom had once called 'butterflies in the stomach' but I, to this day, believe that it was the school's goulash that I ate at lunch that day. 

**

°°°Ron°°°

**

Hermione's definitely not one for public displays of affection so we were not dancing as close to each other as most people were. Of course that was fine with me. I'd probably step on her toes if we danced any closer. She did, however, have her head resting on my shoulder with her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful that I decided not to talk and disturb her from her contentment. My eyes began to wander. 

I saw a rather glum Sirius dancing with Mrs. McGonagall (her husband couldn't make it so it seemed as if she forced Sirius out on the dance floor against his will). Next to them were George and Katie, they were laughing over something (probably Sirius's misfortune). A little ways away I saw Fred lead Angelina out of the dance (didn't wanna know what they're doing). Then my eyes fell upon Draco and Noelle. Draco looked genuinely happy and slightly nervous as he slowly pulled Noelle closer to him. 

"Looks like we don't have to worry about Draco going after Ginny anymore," I stated, forgetting my earlier resolution to not disturb Hermione. 

She lifted her head lazily and looked at the dancing couple. 

"Guess not," she said, returning her head to my shoulder. 

"I'll tell Harry to let Ginny down easy, it's better that he gets himself out of the relationship before she really falls for him." 

Hermione was silent for a minute then she lifted her head. 

"Ron, I don't think Harry's dating Ginny just because you asked him to." 

"What?" I asked in disbelief. 

Hermione slowly turned her head to the opposite side of the room where Harry and Ginny were dancing way too close for comfort. I gazed at them with slitted eyes and Hermione stepped closer to me, tightening her grip to prevent me from doing anything stupid. 

I stayed swaying to the slow song like all the other couples but my eyes remained upon Harry, thinking that he could raise his hands to a more appropriate place upon Ginny's waist. Moments later, George waltzed over with Katie and tried talking to me to no avail. So he followed my gaze and abruptly let go of Katie, making a move to walk over and pound Harry. However, Katie (being the smart girl she is) wrapped her arms around his chest and turned him back around. Her hands found his cheeks and she gently forced him to look at her instead of his younger sister and the friend who was to close to her for comfort. 

"They're just dancing, let them be," she told him. 

George nodded reluctantly (I think Katie taking a step closer to him had something to do with it) but both he and I continued to glance at Harry from time to time. Neither of us spoke much for the rest of the night. 

**

°°°Draco°°°

**

The rest of the night passed quickly. I danced the whole time with Noelle (the weird feeling in my stomach lessened but hadn't gone away completely) and we left slightly early to walk home. She made me laugh a lot. That's all I can really say about our time together. We didn't make out, or fight, we just talked and laughed, and it was weird. 

We were half way to her house when my cell phone rang. It was my mom. She told me that I shouldn't come home that night. Normal kids might have been offended by it but it's been happening with me for years. Some nights dad has to work on 'business' with some of is 'coworkers' and they kick me out so I 'don't get in their way'. The phone call dampened my mood considerably because it meant that I would be staying over at my Aunt Belatrix's. I hated staying over there! 

Noelle sensed my mood change and gave me a reassuring hug before disappearing into her house. It made me feel slightly better but a sour taste came to my mouth as Aunt Belatrix's manor came into view. I snuck in quietly, hoping to get into my bedroom without her noticing, but she was waiting on the steps for me. The whole house was dark and a tree branch was rattling against the sitting room window. 

"Hello Draco," she said, smiling viciously. 

I grunted. 

"How was your dance?" 

I shrugged and there was a heavy silence for a minute. 

"Well, aren't your going to tell me about it?" she asked impatiently. 

"I spiked the punch," I said nonchalantly. 

She smiled. 

"Did anyone catch you?" 

"Sirius Black." 

Her smile quickly turned to a look of what seemed like a mix between hatred and disgust. 

"The bastard," she said under her breath. 

I shrugged again. 

"He didn't turn me in or anything. He was just disappointed I hadn't told him beforehand so he could help." 

My aunt glared at me. 

"So he's trying to become your little friend now, is he?" 

I looked at her with slitted eyes, very confused. Why did she care? 

"He should have been put on death row," she continued. 

"But...he was innocent," I stated. It was the truth, everyone knew it, but she continued to glare at me. 

"You'll stay away from him if you know what's good for you," she told me. "And that Potter boy he's raising too, they're both no good." 

I didn't answer. Though I would never admit it, I liked Potter's group more than my own. After several minutes of silence, my aunt smiled at me yet again. 

"Come on," she said, getting up and tugging at my shirt. "I baked cookies." 

**Another Author's Note:** Belatrix baking cookies? Weird. I'm giving blood again next week! Yay! I had fun last time, and my friends think I'm nuts. Anywho, I really hope you guys liked this chapter. 


	11. Everyone Hates Everyone

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Serendipity7_

**Arthur's Note:** Sorry to have kept you waiting yet again for this chapter. You all probably know about the computer problems that I was having so I won't bother to type them all up again. But here it is and chapter twelve is half way finished too. My back itches and the radio keeps playing the dumbest songs!!! Oh well, I'll survive. So what did you all think about the trailer? I thought that it was alright...needed to be longer. 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters (cept Billy and Noelle)...the Spice Girls...Gucci...Spiderman...Batman...The White Stripes...Good Charlotte...Finch...Eminem...Hamlet...and anything that I might have missed. 

Chapter Eleven

_Everyone Hates Everyone_

**

°°°Draco°°°

**

My mother was cross with me and I didn't know why. It was Sunday evening and I was sitting at the dinner table with my parents, telling them about my weekend with Aunt Bellatrix. The weekend its self was highly uneventful, so I told them about the Halloween dance. They scowled when I admitted to hanging around George Weasel for most of the night, but they didn't really say anything until I started speaking very highly of Sirius Black. 

Mother threw her fork down upon her plate, shrieked obscenities at me, and stormed off sobbing uncontrollably for some reason. My dad grabbed me by my shirt collar and dragged me to the stairs where he slapped me and sent me to my room before I could even get my dessert! I was highly confused by all of this and Dad didn't make it any better Monday morning by forcing me to ride the bus. 

"We've spoiled you rotten," he stated when I came down the stairs with my back pack slung on my shoulder. "You can ride the bus until your sixteenth birthday." 

Knowing better than to question why, I mumbled a 'yes sir' before grabbing my jacket and walking out into the chilly November air. Potter was already waiting at the bus stop when I arrived. He gave me a look as if to say, 'What the hell are you doing here?' but I didn't give him the satisfaction of an explanation. Instead, I asked him why he didn't have a ride. I was almost certain that he got a ride from the Weasel's every day. 

"Old Betsy probably broke down again," he shrugged. "They were probably just too busy to call me." 

I had a funny feeling that there was more to it than that, but I figured that Potter didn't know exactly what that reason was yet, so I decided to keep my mouth shut until he figured it out. 

A cold rain started up just as we pulled into the school's drive. 

"Just peachy," Potter mumbled glumly as we stood and made to leave. We both hoisted our back packs over our heads and ran for the doors. 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

It was the longest I had gone with not talking to Ron since third grade when we fought over who was better, Spiderman or Batman. He had left the dance without telling me and continued the silent treatment by not calling me. I called twice but both times Mrs. Weasley claimed that he wasn't home before putting Ginny on the line. Ginny said that he (along with Fred and George) have been acting weird to her too, though neither of us could really figure out why. 

After I gathered my books from my locker, I went into the boy's bathroom to dry the rain water off of me. Ron and his brothers were there talking in low whispers to Seamus, Dean, Neville, Lee, and Billy (Billy didn't seem to be taking in a word of it seeing as he was currently fascinated with his reflection). The three red heads glared at me when I entered and the others slinked back as if to avoid confrontation. It was a tense moment before I just shook my head and left. 

I went into health and waited for the bell to ring. Shortly after, Draco stormed in muttering obscenities under his breath. He plopped down into his chair, took out a piece of paper and pen and began to scribble furiously. Out of boredom and curiosity, I read over his shoulder. 

_Draco Malfoy _

102 Malfoy Lane 

Hogwarts Hills, CA 90217 

Principal Dumbledore 

Hogwarts High 

123 Quidditch Road 

Hogwarts Hills, CA 90217 

Dear Principal Dumbledore: 

Two years ago I chose Hogwarts High as the place to continue my studies for several reasons. The highly praised curriculum, award winning soccer team, and the much talked about food are a few of those reasons; however, there is something that has been rubbing me the wrong way since I arrived here...literally: The toilet paper. 

The thin tissue paper that the government provides us with is not up to my standards. Please see if you can do something to change this inconvience for me. 

Sincerely, 

Draco Malfoy 

Sophomore 

I fell off of my chair and onto the cold floor laughing as I read this. Snape stopped his lesson about alcoholism and proceeded by giving me the dreaded detention pink slip. I took it, still giggling, and sat back down into my chair. 

"Something funny, Pothead?" Draco asked, obviously not amused. 

"No, nothing," I lied through chuckles. 

He glared at me before continuing a conversation, this time in whispers seeing as how Snape was back to explaining that the legal alcohol limit was .8 not 8. 

"George, least I think it was George, told me that Old Betsy was fine," he said. I couldn't read his expression seeing as it was one of indifference but I knew that he wasn't lying (it's a little known fact that Draco rubs his nose when ever he tells a lie). 

"You talked to him?" I asked. 

"Him, his twin, and Weasel III, but I swear they said hi first!" he claimed as if defending why he would be conversing with someone as the likes of the Weasley's. 

So they would say hi to Draco but not me? It was official that something was up; I just didn't know what. 

**

°°°Hermione°°°

**

"I can't believe that I let you talk me into this," I told Ginny through clenched teeth between an inhale and exhale. She had convinced me to take this Yoga class every Monday after school. We held our poses for a count of five before collapsing onto our mats and huffing from exhaustion. 

"It's not so bad," she said, though she was clutching her abs in pain. "Besides, we need something to keep us in shape now that the swim season's over." 

"Whatever," I said, as I got up and picked my mat up as well. "Listen, we need to get going. I promised Harry that I'd pick him up after his detention and I'm already twenty minutes late." 

Ginny nodded and we got up and went into the locker room. There we pulled track pants over our shorts and hoodies over our T-shirts before locking our mats up in our lockers and heading towards the door. 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

"I'm sure my father will be here any minute," Draco said, as he crossed his arms over his chest as to block out the cold. The rain from the morning had yet to stop and it seemed even colder than before. Draco had skipped English and was forced to join me in detention. Hermione had called to tell me that she'd be late, but Draco's father hadn't even really agreed to pick him up when Draco called and asked. I was beginning to wonder what was going on in that family. 

Draco sneezed and began hopping from one foot to the next in order to keep warm. His bright red cheeks stood out amongst his pale complexion and his hair was escaping his gel's hold and falling into his gray eyes that held a hint of panic in them. 

"Draco?" I asked slowly. "Did you do something to piss your father off?" 

Draco shot me a deadly glare as if to say, 'none of your fucking business', but then sighed and returned his gaze to the street. 

"It's nothing," he said and we left it at that. Fifteen minutes later Hermione pulled into the school's drive. I braced myself against the rain and ran out to the car. I got into the back seat and was about to close the door when I saw Draco still standing by the school doors, trying to keep warm against the cold. 

"Hermione?" 

Hermione sighed. "Oh all right," she said. 

"Hey, Malfoy!" I called. 

He looked at me. 

"Do you want a ride home?" 

He looked down the street once more and when he didn't see his father's car, he came running to join the rest of us in Hermione's car. 

**

°°°Ron°°°

**

Tuesday in English, Mr. Flitwick passed out booklets of Hamlet. The class groaned, but he ignored us. I took my copy before forcefully handing the rest to Harry with out speaking to him or looking him in the eye. Why didn't he tell me that he was feeling something for my sister? And to think that all this time I thought that he was just doing me a favor! 

"Now class," Mr. Flitwick stated, coming up to his podium. "I thought that instead of acting this one out," he paused as the class groaned. We liked acting it out. "I know, I know," he continued, trying to abate us. "But I thought that this time I'd assign partners and together you and your partner will read and interpret it then we'll have in class discussions of what you guys thought." 

I sighed. I guessed it wasn't too bad, especially if I went with Hermione, but I still liked the acting it out way better. 

"Now," stated Flitwick, clapping his hands together. "the partners are as thus: Pansy and Crabbe." 

I looked over at Pansy who looked livid, but she didn't protest. Her grade was so bad in there that she couldn't afford it. Crabbe looked ecstatic. 

"Draco you will be with Noelle." 

Noelle looked back at Draco and smiled. Draco seemed to blush but it could have just been a trick of my eyes. 

"Hermione you will be with..." 

I sat up straighter, knowing whom Flitwick would pick. 

"Goyle." 

My face fell; that's not who he was supposed to say. I glanced around the class in panic as Flitwick continued to read off names. Finally there were only two left. 

"And Ron you will be with Harry." 

Harry and I glared at each other as Flitwick assigned the first act for homework. 

"My place then?" Harry asked with forced politeness. 

"Whatever, I'll be over around six." 

The bell beeped. 

**

°°°Noelle°°°

**

"Hey, Dad, where are you going?" Draco called out, lowering his fork onto his plate. 

I followed his gaze out into the parlor where his father was currently putting on a black trench coat. His dad had long blonde hair and piercing eyes; he could be considered handsome except for the fact that he gave everyone the hibbyjibbies when they saw him. A chill shot through my spine as the older man glared at me, his look of indifference blocking out any hints of what he thought of me. 

"Out," was all Mr. Malfoy said before opening the front door and leaving Draco and I alone in the dining room. The Malfoy's plump maid came in at that moment to fill our glasses of water. She gazed lovingly at Draco, who was staring into his plate, deep in thought. Noticing this, the maid fixed her gaze upon me and smiled warmly. 

"Is your food alright?" she asked me. 

"Yes, it's very good, thank you." I replied. 

The maid beamed and returned her gaze to Draco, pinching one of his cheeks like an aunt would do. 

"Cookie's homemade lasagna has always been one of Young Mr. Malfoy's favorites!" 

Draco smiled weakly before pushing his half-eaten plate of lasagna away. I followed suit, not wanting him to keep waiting for me. The maid took the plates, her smile still upon her face. 

"I'll send some brownies down later," she told Draco, who thanked her and began leading me to his room. His room was in the basement. It was big and had double doors leading out to the patio. The room was decorated in greens, blacks, and whites. He had posters of bands such as The White Stripes, Good Charlotte, and Finch taped up along with some posters of rappers, the most prominent being Eminem. He had a stereo, laptop, and TV as well as a punching bag hooked up in a far corner. 

We spent about ten minutes flipping through his Cds (most of them burnt) before he put in what he called 'studying music'. It was the soundtrack to that one movie where this kid finds out that he's a wizard and he goes to this school of magic...what was that movie called again? 

Marietta (the maid) came in with a plate of brownies shortly after we stared reading. She picked up a few scattered socks on her way out. After a half an hour of reading, I got fed up with the dialogue and threw my book down in frustration. 

"Hamlet complains way too much," I said, rubbing my temples. 

"I don't blame him though," Draco said, marking his place and looking pensive again. 

"What makes you say that?" I asked, wanting to know his feedback because I was completely confused. 

"He's confused," Draco said. "Does he do what his father wants of him or does he do what the rest of the world wants of him?" 

"Why doesn't he just do what he wants?" I asked. 

"I don't think he knows what he wants," Draco said. 

I began to wonder if what Draco was saying held some basis in his life as well. 

He looked at me. 

"Come on, let's get you home." 

**

°°°Hermione°°°

**

Goyle lumbered into my room, looking as though he didn't know where he was exactly. I had already read Hamlet so I decided just to tell him what happened as quickly as possible. He set his schoolbag down on the floor and looked at me anxiously. 

"Okay, um..." I didn't know what to say. Goyle and I hadn't talked in the longest time. 

"Nice room," he stated, a bit late. 

"Er...thanks." 

"No, really, it is! The yellow thrown in with the blue and green adds a very nice touch. Your curtains could be different. You should go with a softer blue, that dark tone just throws off the pastel colors of the rest of the room." 

I raised an eyebrow and he went back to being stupid. Half an hour later all he gathered from my rendition of Hamlet is that there's a ghost in it. I'm sure the only thing that he'll remember for class is that my curtains are off color. 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

"Why didn't you just tell me that you were getting feelings for my sister?" Ron yelled from across the kitchen. Hamlet lay forgotten on the kitchen floor. 

"Because I knew how you would get!" I yelled back. 

"How I would get?" 

"Yeah, everyone knows that you and your brothers are way too overprotective of her!" 

"WE ARE NOT OVERPROTECTIVE OF HER!" 

"RON! REMEMBER A COUPLE OF HALLOWEEN'S BACK WHEN GINNY AND HER FRIENDS DRESSED UP AS THE SPICE GIRLS?" 

"Vaguely." 

"YOU AND YOUR BROTHER'S MADE HER WEAR A T-SHIRT OVER POSH'S LITTLE GUCCI DRESS!" 

Ron faltered for a moment. He looked confused and I heard him mutter something like 'I thought she was Ginger?'. 

"And it's not like she had anything to show back then anyway!" I continued, ignoring the fact that I had my Spice Girls mixed up. The reason why she has never had a proper boyfriend is that you and your brothers practically sit on the front porch with shot guns, scaring away nearly every adolescent male within a ten mile radius!" 

Ron was looking livid. 

"I don't have to take this!" he said. "And from someone who has never had a family!" he added before storming out. I gasped. It felt like he had just taken a rusty knife and thrust it into my chest. I cursed and fell into a chair at the table. Moments later Sirius came home and walked into the kitchen. 

"Ron's looking like a tomato again," he stated calmly, opening up the freezer. "Did you make him mad or embarrass him," he paused, "or both." 

I didn't answer because at that moment he closed the freezer revealing a massive bruise on his face, accompanied by two scratches on his cheek. 

"Where did you get that?" I asked, getting up to examine them closer. 

"What these?" Sirius asked, indicating the bruise and scratches. "They're nothing, now what happened between you and Ron?" 

My anger flared up again. If he wasn't going to tell me his problems then I wasn't going to tell him mine. 

"Nothing," I said, then I went into my room and plopped into bed. 

**

°°°Draco°°°

**

"Why does my room have to be so damn far away from the kitchen?" I wondered out loud as I wandered my house late at night, wanting a glass of juice before bed. I opened the kitchen door to find my mother nursing my father's bloody nose. I stood completely flabbergasted at the sight. 

"Get out," my father told me in a deadly quiet tone when he saw me. 

I left, crossing my arms over my bare chest to keep warm and mumbling numerous obscenities as I went back to my room. I didn't even get my glass of juice! 

**Last Author's Note:** Guess what! I have the next couple of chapters plotted out. Up to chapter fifteen I believe. I'll plot more really soon. Maybe it'll help me write faster. REVIEWIDUS! I haven't used that in while. 


	12. Thanksgiving Mayhem

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Serendipity7_

**Author's Note:** The only birthdays that I know are of the trio, so I made everyone else's up. If anyone knows any other character's birthdays, feel free to tell me. ^o^ 

**Disclaimer:** -sighs- Do I have to? -looks at lawyers, they nod- Oh all right. I don't own anything you recognize such as the characters...Borders...Gameboy...Inuyasha 

Chapter Twelve

_Thanksgiving Mayhem_

**

°°°Ron°°°

**

I don't know why I agree to go into any store that contains books with Hermione, especially a store as big as Borders. We get through the door and with in moments, she leaves me in a cloud of dust as she continues her life goal to read everything ever written. 

After the last day of school before Thanksgiving break, Hermione had talked me into going to Borders with her so she could pick up some reading material for the long weekend with no homework (our teachers had been unusually nice though each threatened a giant increase in our work loads once we returned). I sighed and agreed, thinking that it was my duty as a boyfriend to do things that she wants every once in awhile, even if I have no interest in it. Sure enough, as soon as we passed through the doors, Hermione was out of sight, leaving me in a complete stupor as to how she could just disappear so fast. 

I scanned the store but could not find her. Figuring that she'd find me when she was done, I went over to the café and got myself a cappuccino. 

"Hi, welcome to Borders. What can I--oh it's you." 

Seamus was working behind the counter, his Borders' cap was pulled so low that I didn't recognize him at first. 

"Er..." I started, taken off guard. "I'll have a small French vanilla cappuccino." 

"Good choice," Seamus complemented, getting a cup. 

"So when did you start working here?" I asked. 

"Two weeks ago, I'm trying to raise money for a car. I turn sixteen in April," he replied, handing me my drink. "Hey, it's my break. Do you wanna help me find a comic or something for my little cousin. He just got out of surgery." 

"Surgery!? What for?" I asked, following Seamus as he left the counter and whet over to the graphic novels section. 

"Tonsils," Seamus said nonchalantly, picking up a book and flipping through it. I followed suit (rather clumsily since I only had one free hand) and opened a comic (that was called a manga for some reason) to a page that showed a naked woman. 

"How old is your cousin?" I asked, as Seamus replaced what must have been his third manga on the shelf. 

"Eleven," he replied, this time pulling out several books. "Damn, comics have changed since I was a kid. Nudity," he said throwing one manga aside. "Blood and gore," he continued, throwing another down. He took his last one and opened it to somewhere in the middle and began to read. "Both nudity and gore plus a lot of bad language...kind of good though." 

I looked at the title that was currently hiding Seamus's face. 

"Inuyasha," I said slowly. I looked at the cover. "Why does that guy have dog ears?" I asked, pointing to the picture. Seamus glanced at it momentarily before shrugging and going back to reading it. 

"Because he's half dog demon," came a female voice behind me. Hermione had returned, equipped with a bag full of books. 

"Hermione, you read this stuff?" I asked, surprised. 

She shrugged. 

"I read everything. Here," she said, picking up one of the manga and handing it to Seamus, "if you're looking for something for your cousin; Pokemon is G-rated." 

Seamus gave her a look as if to ask, 'How did you know about my cousin?'. 

"Lavender told me." 

"Oh," Seamus and I both said as if that explained everything. 

Hermione sighed and blew a lock of hair out of her eyes while Seamus went back to reading. 

"So are you ready to go yet?" she asked me. "I promised Harry that I'd help him with geometry tonight. He had to bring some extra credit home to raise his grade a bit." 

I glared at her. 

"I don't want you to be hanging out with Harry," I told her. 

"Why not?" 

"Because of what he did to my sister!" I exclaimed and Seamus took a step back, his face still hidden behind Inuyasha. 

Hermione smirked. 

"And what exactly did he do to her?" she asked me. 

"He...he molested her that's what he did!" I said as Hermione and Seamus busted out laughing. 

"Come on, man, you're making Harry sound like he's Mic..." 

"He lied to me!" I shouted, cutting off Seamus's sentence. 

Hermione was shaking her head in frustration. "If you can't be happy for them, then I don't know what I'm doing here with you," she said. "Bye Seamus," she added as she walked out of Borders. 

I stood there, completely confused while Seamus giggled behind the comic. 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

There was a knock at my bedroom door. 

"I told you, I HAVE A COLD!!!" 

Sirius came in anyway. 

"Like hell you do," he said as he threw the blankets off of my bed and confiscated the Gameboy that I was playing with. "I'm not going to let you and Ron throw away twelve years of friendship over something as stupid as this. Now get up and shower, I expect you ready to go to the Weasley's in an hour." 

"Something as stupid as this?" I quoted, glaring at him. "I'm glad you see my relationship with Ginny as stupid!" 

Sirius rolled his eyes. 

"Of course I don't. I just think the fact that you, Ron, and the twins aren't speaking to each other over it is stupid! Ginny's their ONLY sister so of course they're worried about her! You were the dumbass for not telling them of your feelings before they found out from someone else!" 

I wanted to argue more but I knew that Sirius was right. It was my fault for not saying something in the first place. I sighed with frustration and got up. I went to my closet and pulled out a pair of khakis and a nice emerald green button down shirt. 

"That's my boy," Sirius said, as he ruffled my hair. 

**

°°°Mrs. Weasley°°°

**

Thanksgiving was not going well at all! Both Bill and Charlie couldn't make it, and left Percy as the only 'dignified' Weasley child as he so blatantly put it as his younger siblings rushed about him as if they were all five years old. His bellows echoed across the house as he stood amidst all of the hustle and bustle taking place in the living room. 

"NO, NO!!! Fred...George...who ever the HELL you are!!! My laptop is NOT FOR DOWNLOADING PORN!!! Ron you cannot use that report for your English class; put it away NOW!!! Ginny, stop clinging!!!" 

I smiled to myself as I peeled potatoes. It was just another Thanksgiving at the Weasley's. 

"Mother, make them stop!" Percy commanded, coming into the kitchen with his glasses askew. 

"I'm sorry, Perce," I said lovingly. "But I can't control them anymore." 

Percy scowled and returned to the living room. "Ron I told you to STAY out of my school bag!" sounded through the rooms. Smiling to myself, I went into the living room to see the turmoil. Fred was doing some weird dance while wearing several of Percy's sweaters. George appeared to be reading some discriminating e-mails in Percy's inbox. Ron was throwing numerous papers of Percy's homework into the air like confetti. And Ginny was firmly connected to Percy's side. The vein above Percy's left eye was throbbing. 

"I HATE TEENAGERS!!!" Percy shouted suddenly, his arms thrown up above his head. I thought that that was quite fresh of him to say seeing as he had just recently made it out of teenage hood himself, but the scene before me was still cute. Percy was trying to gather his things, mumbling something about going back to Harvard. 

"Don't leave Perce!!!" Ginny exclaimed, throwing her arms around his shoulders. 

"Yeah," chimed in George from the couch. "We still have one more teen coming, and he's the fun one!" 

Everyone was silent after that except for Percy who was mumbling incoherent things again. George looked up from the laptop, 'oh no' written across his face as he realized his mistake. Just then, as if on cue, the doorbell rang. Even Percy noticed the tension in the room and shut up. I wiped my hands on my apron and answered the door to find Sirius's happily smiling face as he shoved a pie close to my nose. 

"HAPPY THANKSGIVING!" Sirius shouted with the excitement of a ten-year-old. Behind him was Harry, who looked very uncomfortable. I smiled warmly and ushered them into the house. 

"Happy Thanksgiving to you too, Sirius, dear!" I exclaimed as my three boys quietly left the room. Percy looked about him, confused. 

"Well, Harry, I don't know what you did, but thank you, you got rid of my annoying brothers for me," Percy exclaimed. He marched over to Sirius and Harry and took their coats. "So glad you're here," he stated, half way down the hall to place the coats in his bedroom. Ginny smiled meekly at Harry before also disappearing into her room. 

"Oh my," I sighed. This was not how I wanted Thanksgiving to be like. 

Sirius looked from a downtrodden Harry, to a disappointed me, and tried to smile but was unable to. Percy, however, returned with a rather large smile plastered upon his smug face. 

"This is excellent!" he exclaimed. "They don't seem to want to come out of their bedrooms, which means more turkey for me!" He clapped his hands together and escorted me back into the kitchen. 

**

°°°Draco°°°

**

I stood upon Noelle's doorstep with an elaborate bowl of cranberry sauce in my hands. Mothers like cranberry sauce right? My parents didn't really care that I was spending Thanksgiving at Noelle's. I was extremely glad to be away from Malfoy Manor and Aunt Bellatrix's kisses. Noelle opened the door, smiling. 

"You made it!" she exclaimed and I wondered whether she really thought that I'd stay home. 

"Yeah," I said, coming inside and handing her the cranberry sauce. They had a huge mirror on the wall of their foyer and the perfect lighting to accentuate my lovely gray eyes. It took Noelle two minutes to pry me away from it and bring me into her kitchen. Her mother was at the stove, stirring something or another and an elderly woman sat at the table. Noelle handed her mother the cranberry sauce. 

"Mom, this is Draco," she introduced. Her mother wiped her hands on a questionably clean towel and shook hands with me. I secretly wanted some antibacterial lotion. Her mother smiled at me and thanked me for the cranberry sauce. I waved her off. 

"Think nothing of it, Mrs. Evans! The cook spent less than an hour on it!" 

Mrs. Evans raised a questionable eyebrow. 

"Draco's family is rich," Noelle explained, blushing slightly. 

"What? Draco's a witch?" came a squeaky, elderly voice behind me. Turning back around I met Noelle's grandmother. I had forgotten that she was there. 

"DRACO'S FAMILY'S RICH!" Noelle spoke loudly to her. I figured that I should probably shake the grandmother's hand as well and as I hesitantly held my hand out to her I really wished that I had that antibacterial lotion. She shook my hand and went back to her knitting, ignoring the rest of us as Mrs. Evans asked me some questions which I answered in my trademark drawl. After a half an hour a little kid of about ten years came into the dining room and sat down, scowling. He had dark brown hair that looked a little greasy and a large nose. He reminded me of Mr. Snape. 

"Mark, I would like you to meet..." Noelle started, but Mark interrupted her. 

"I know who he is," he stated, staring at me grumpily. "He hogs the dance game at the video arcade." 

I had half a mind to beat the kid. Instead, I smiled feebly. Just then Mr. Evans entered the room. He had black hair and also resembled Mr. Snape, except that he was clean, dressed properly, and seemed fairly happy. He kissed his wife, mother, and daughter and ruffled his surly son's head before turning back to me. "Who are you?" he asked kindly, though his eyes showed that he was scrutinizing me. 

"Um, daddy, this is the boy that I was talking to you about," Noelle said, coming towards me and linking her arm with mine, something that she had never done before. I was shocked at first but then I thought, 'Why wouldn't she link arms with me? I'm utterly gorgeous! Who could resist my charm?' 

Mr. Evans smiled and held out his hand. "Good to meet you, son," he said before sitting down at the table. Us men talked while the women finished up the food. We offered to help (I don't know what I was thinking because the idea of me doing manual labor is just disturbing!) but it turns out that neither of us can cook. We talked about Hogwarts High (Mr. Evans had graduated from there) and about where they had lived before moving back (Colorado). And then it was time fore dinner. The food was placed before us and I wondered why people weren't digging in. Then suddenly, Noelle grabbed my right hand and her brother grabbed my left. Mr. Evans led us in grace. I had never said grace before. 

**

°°°Fred°°°

**

"Would you three please come out?" Dad asked through the closed door. 

No we were not going to come out; we were in the middle of a poker tournament and I was winning! George owed me his skateboard and bowling shoes and Ron owed me a box of pop tarts. 

"I'm asking you three one last time!" 

We ignored him and he got mad and, with Sirius' help, broke down the door. Sirius had Harry by the collar of his shirt and Dad had a fist full of Ginny's hair. They marched over to us and grabbed us by our shirt collars. We met Mom in the living room, she threw our coats at us. Sirius opened the door. 

"Out!" Dad yelled. 

"But..." Ron uttered. 

Percy appeared and seemed absolutely delighted. He mumbled something about more food for him and disappeared once again. 

"You kids are going on a walk and you're not coming back until you get this whole ordeal over with!" Dad yelled. The fact that it was Dad yelling and not Mom amused me and George so much that we left without a fuss. Ginny left too, only because she was confused over everything. Harry left because he was just so depressed that I don't think that he remembered how to think for himself. And Ron only left the house once Dad and Sirius hurled him out. He landed on his bum in the middle of the yard. 

He got up and glared at the rest of us, his Weasley hair falling into his eyes which at the moment were flashing with anger. "Well let's go!" he shouted and with that he stormed off down the street. Me and George followed behind with Harry and Ginny bringing in the rear. After about five minutes, Ron went behind, grabbed Ginny's hand and brought her back up front. Five more minutes past before Harry ran up front and stood before Ron, blocking his way and forcing him to stop. 

"I LIKE YOUR SISTER!" he shouted. 

Ron looked stupefied. "I know that already," he stated, calmly. 

"You're mad because I didn't tell you. Well I told you. I like your sister and I want to go out with her." Ron, George and I were all silent. I don't know what was going on in my brother's heads but mine was blank. Finally George sighed. 

"Listen, Harry, our sister..." 

"Will be fifteen soon. She's old enough to make her own choices." 

"She doesn't know what she wants yet!" Ron yelled. 

"Oh and you do?" Ginny asked, talking for the first time all day. Then we all erupted into yells of which I only heard: "I can make my own choices!", "I wouldn't do anything that would make her uncomfortable!", and "We're missing the turkey!" Harry, Ron, and George started throwing punches. I pried Ron off of Harry. Ron was so angry that he hit me. George hit Ron for hitting me, and then us three started hitting each other. We didn't see Ginny rush out into the darken street in frustration. We didn't see the car coming at a fast speed. And we didn't see Harry rush out and push Ginny out of the way. But we did see the car smash into Harry. 

**Last Author's Note:** CLIFFHANGER!!! Sorry about that...I know that I was going to have Dr. Khai come in. I was planning on having Harry wake up in the hospital in this chapter but I decided that this was a good place to stop and Harry waking up will be a good way to start next time. I remember that in some review a person told me that I should have the dream team go to the hospital more often. Well this is the score so far: Harry has been in the hospital twice, Ron once, and Hermione zero. I think that's a lot. Anywho. Someone also told me to have a background for Noelle so I did. Now, I'm sitting here with my friend and she suggested that I should have had Dr. Khai driving the car that hit Harry. Then I suggested an old priest of ours who is now retired. I picked him cuz once upon a time (like two years ago) we were on a walk and our priest almost ran us over. Well as you know I didn't put that in the story but I thought of a parody with it...Enjoy!!! 

Potter Parody!!! 

Harry ran out into the street, all he saw was Ginny. She was staring at the car's headlights, two small orbs that were increasing in size as the car rushed forward at an amazing speed. A chubby man with rosy cheeks and white, thinning hair stuck his head out of the car's window. His small eyes were filled with insanity. 

"SEASON'S GREETTINGS!!!" he shouted as I pushed Ginny out of the way. Everything went black after that. 

Fin 

(of the parody of course!) 


	13. Forgiven and Revelations

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Serendipity7_

**Author's Note:** Alrighty...well it is a Tuesday afternoon and I am not in school. SNOW DAY!!! Actually, I wouldn't be in school even if it weren't a snow day because it is 3:28 in the afternoon. I told myself last night that if I were to have today off, I would sit down and write as much of this story as I could manage...so here I am. Also, my friend just gave me a pic of Dr. Khai that she drew in like five minutes. He shall be my muse. 

**Dissclaimer:** I don't own the HP characters, or my town's old priest, or Popsicles. 

**Warning:** I wrote this in two hours so I apologize if there are any typos...though I think I have at least one typo per chapter anyway. Ok, now I'm just babbling. 

Chapter Thirteen

_Forgiven and Revelations_

**

°°°Ron°°°

**

Harry jumped as the car came. He smashed into the hood and rolled off, landing with a sickening 'splat' on the pavement. The car drove on for a few more moments before it skidded to a halt and out stepped our priest. He wobbled over with a look of pure shock. 

"Oh, no!" he exclaimed, trying to kneel down by Harry, though he was having problems since he has so much bulk. Fred and George rushed over to Harry and the priest but I stayed rooted to the sidewalk. Across the street, Ginny was doing the same, only she appeared to be shaking. Finally, I managed to go to the middle of the street. Harry had a huge gash on the side of his head that was leaking blood like a faucet. Suddenly, Harry opened his eyes. 

"PRAISE THE LORD!" the priest shouted, raising his arms triumphantly over his head. 

I knelt down by Harry and put a hand on his shoulder. "Harry, I'm _so_ sorry!" I exclaimed. "I'm really, really sorry!" 

"Don't worry, Ron," Harry whispered weakly. He made a slight face as some blood dribbled into his mouth. "Our geometry test isn't until next Wednesday." He lost consciousness after that. Fred was calling an ambulance and George was comforting our eccentric priest. I looked across the street and saw Ginny run off into the park. 

"GINNY!" I yelled, getting up and running after her. She kept darting between trees and I was beginning to wish that it wasn't dusk so that I could see her better. "Ginny, please stop!" 

After another minute or so Ginny stopped by the swing set. She was panting. "What?" she asked. I could tell that she was angry. 

"I'm so sorry," I said, once I caught my breath. "This is all my fault." 

Ginny rolled her eyes and gave me an odd sort of nod. 

"It's just that..." I paused, trying to put my emotions into words. "I hate anyone who hurts you. I hate that fat kid who pulled your pig tails in the sandbox when you were three..." 

"Dudley?" she asked. 

"Was it Dudley? Well, yeah, I hate him. I hate Luna Lovegood for not inviting you to her eighth birthday party. And I hate Pansy Parkinson for banging your head into a locker." 

"What does this have to do with me and Harry though?" 

I sighed and took a moment to actually think how I wanted to say this. 

"Gin, I know that I've been overprotective of you. Especially with boys. It's not like I don't want you to date, it's just...you're fourteen, which means that someday you and Harry will break up. If he dumped you, or hurt you, then I would hate him. And I don't want to hate him. And I don't want to see you suffer if I were to stay friends with him. How would you feel if he dumped you suddenly for another girl and then brought that girl over to our house?" 

Ginny looked shocked. "That makes sense...kind of." 

I smiled and sat down on one of the swings. Ginny sat in the swing next to me. We were silent for a long while. Finally she spoke: 

"So what are we going to do now?" 

"Go home and have mom and dad take us to the hospital to see how Harry's doing." 

"I mean after that, when Harry comes home." 

"You'll continue to date Harry and I'll pray to God that you're the one who dumps him." 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

"Hello! I am Dr. Khai. Do you remember me? I remember you!" 

I groaned outwardly, knowing whom the voice belonged to and where I was. Several seconds later I remembered why I was there. Opening my eyes, I saw Dr. Khai hovering over me, his ever present clipboard by his side. He apparently just finished checking my stats. I was surprised that I was still in my normal clothes and not in one of the ghastly night gowns that the hospital supplies for you. Dr. Khai seemed to read my mind. 

"You'll be going home soon. The cut on your head isn't that bad at all. It didn't even need stitches! And other than that you just have some very minor bruising. Somebody up there must love you." 

"Yeah," I said, sitting up slowly. Suddenly Ron rushed into my room. 

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." 

Dr. Khai rolled his eyes and looked at me. "The kid has been popping in here every five minutes, muttering those words like some religious chant." 

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." 

Fred and George rushed in as Dr. Khai was leaving and nearly knocked him over. Dr. Khai left us then, muttering something about 'Dern kids.' 

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." Fred and George echoed along with Ron. 

They wouldn't stop their chant. Ginny came in and stood by my bed, taking my hand. "They're sorry," she stated with a smirk. 

"I've noticed." I replied as Sirius and the rest of the Weasley family sauntered in. Percy clutched a turkey leg in each hand. 

**

°°°Draco°°°

**

I woke up to the annoying beeps of my God forsaken alarm clock and groaned. Mondays suck! I turned my alarm off and rolled out of bed, falling in a heap of flesh onto the floor. I picked myself up and gazed into the mirror. My eyes were squinty and my hair stuck out in all different directions. Damn, I look cute in the morning! I stepped out of my room, into the dark basement and stubbed my toe twice on the staircase before being blinded by the light on the first floor. I shuffled into the kitchen where Cookie handed me my usual Monday cup of coffee. I grabbed the funnies and joined my parents at the table while Cookie prepared my bowl of Fruit Loops. We all sat in silence for awhile before my father lowered his paper and glared at me. 

I jumped slightly. My father glaring at you is not something you want to see first thing in the morning. 

"What day is it today?" my father asked. 

"Monday," I replied, glumly. 

My father was silent. 

"December 8th," I tried again. "The Immaculate Conception...my birthday." I had just realized what my father had been wanting me to say all along. 

"A little slow in the mornings, aren't you?" 

"Yeah, I am." 

My father shook his head and rolled his eyes. 

"Your present is in the driveway. I'll take you to get your license after school today." 

I stared at him blankly for a minute before I ran from the table and out the front door in my plaid pajamas. There in the driveway was a brand new, silver SUV. 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

"Pothead, guess what!" 

Everything was now officially back to normal. My head was fine, and so were my relationships with Ginny and her brothers. And now even Draco was back to calling me Pothead. Old Betsy had broken down again so I was forced to ride the bus with Draco seeing as Wood didn't have enough room in his car for all the Weasleys and me. 

"I despise when you call me that," I told Draco, trying to go back to my nap. 

"Today's my birthday!" Draco exclaimed, ignoring my comment. 

"Happy Birthday," I replied in a monotone voice though I didn't care. 

"And I got a brand new SUV!!!" 

I had to listen to him describe his vehicle the whole way to school, at our lockers (he shouted it down the hall since his locker is some distance away from mine), in the men's room as we watched Fred and George soap the mirrors, and all the way to Health. 

"And it has a five disk cd player!" 

"All right, settle down," Snape mumbled, coming into the classroom as the first bell rang. "Seeing as this is a one semester class, we should be wrapping things up here. Since I had missed that one week and left you guys with that incompetent oaf, Lockhart, we are a bit behind. So instead of spending two weeks talking about STDs with you, I'll put you into partners and assign each group a STD report that should be five pages long, double spaced due tomorrow." 

I wanted to cry. 

"And the partners are," Snape paused and sent me an icy glare. "Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter..." 

I wanted to die. 

**

°°°Sirius°°°

**

I don't like bartending during the day. It's too boring. All I do is bring out sandwiches for people during lunch. I had just set down a roast beef sandwich in front of the priest who hit Harry with his car. The priest is a regular at my tavern. He often comes in, clad in leather, with his biker buddies. It makes me wonder about the world today. But anyway, I had just set down the sandwich when the door swung open and in walked Lucius. 

"Great," I muttered. "A family reunion." 

Lucius came up to the bar and glared at me. 

"Good afternoon, Lucius! What can I get for you?" I asked cheerfully. 

"My son." 

"Sorry, not in season." 

Lucius held up his cell phone. "My son just called to tell me that he'll be late coming home from school today because he's dropping by at your apartment. We were going to get his license after school and yet he rather go to your apartment and hang around with that wimp of a godson that you have." 

"He's not a wimp." I put a hand over my heart as if Lucius had hurt me personally. 

"I don't want my son hanging around you or that boy you're raising! Is that clear?" 

"Listen, I didn't invite Draco over. I know perfectly well what happens when I converse with the boy." 

Lucius's eyes gazed at the two scars on my cheek. "You're right, _you_ didn't invite Draco over." And with that he got up and headed towards the door. 

"Wait! What does that mean?" I shouted after him, but he left with out answering. 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

"Do you have any Popsicles?" 

I sighed. Draco had been annoying all day. 

"No, Draco, we don't buy Popsicles in December." 

"Why the bloody not?" 

"Because it's cold! Now are we going to get started on this report or not?" 

Draco sighed and closed the freezer. 

"Alright," I said, once Draco sat down. "It says here that we need at least two Internet sources and one book source." I paused, thinking about the book source. "I think Sirius has some encyclopedias in his office." 

Draco was busy networking his laptop to the Internet. "Great, we'll get most of our information from the Internet and use the encyclopedia in our bibliography." 

"We should probably get a sentence or two from the encyclopedia, just incase Snape feels like checking. He hates me, you know." 

Draco nodded. "Alright, what was our disease again?" 

"Syphilis." 

"Uh huh, and how do you spell it?" I spelled it for him. He quickly jabbed enter and sat for a moment or two staring at his screen. "Ah, this one looks good." He clicked and spent another few seconds staring at his screen, and then... 

"EWWW!!!!! IT'S HORRIBLE!!!!!" Apparently the site came with pictures. "Here, you write it and I'll make us some steak sandwiches." He pushed his laptop over to me and went back into the kitchen to cook. I sighed, I guess it would be better if I wrote it anyway. 

After an hour of typing and a half an hour of eating (Draco is surprisingly a good cook considering he probably never cooked before in his life), we were ready to get the smidgen' of information from the encyclopedia. We expected to spend a grand total of five minutes in Sirius' office; however, Sirius' office had converted itself into a pig's sty. 

We went over to his bookshelf and began sorting through the rubbish, hoping to find the encyclopedias. As I pulled a stack of papers loose, a folder dropped upon my lap. 'Custody files' was written in Sirius' sloppy handwriting on the cover. Figuring they were mine, I opened the folder. I was surprised to see that the papers were old (dating back to the 1970s) and that they were Sirius' custody papers, not mine. It turns out that his aunt and uncle tried to steal him away from my grandparents. I was going to toss it aside, but three names caught my attention. They were the names of Sirius' three girl cousins: Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Andromeda. It was then that I noticed that Draco was also looking at the papers, his face whiter than usual. 

"Your mom's name is Narcissa right?" I asked him. 

He nodded slowly, his gray eyes wide. He got up suddenly and walked back to the kitchen, saving our paper on his laptop and packing it into his school bag. "Listen, I'll just use one of the encyclopedias at home," he stated, reaching for his coat and shrugging it on. "You've done enough tonight." 

He began walking to the door but I stopped him and forced him to look at me. 

"What's with you?" I asked. 

Draco sighed. "I have an Aunt Bellatrix and an Aunt Andromeda too." 

**End Author's Note:** YAYNESS!!! I forced myself to sit down and write this today and after two hours of slaving away it is finished!!! Now let's see, what do I wanna talk about? Well, the plot is really going to pick up next chapter. Yup, I'm bringing the conflict out. Um...how did you guys like the little bit of Sirius' POV up there? I don't think that I've ever used his POV before. -scratches head- Anywho, I hope that answers a few questions about the Sirius/Lucius fight from earlier. Sirius and Lucius obviously know that they're cousins (through marriage) but neither Harry nor Draco knew because Sirius' family hates him. So Draco ticked his parents off when he was talking highly of Sirius which is why Lucius fought Sirius...because Lucius doesn't want his son to be hanging around such a 'bad influence'. Anywho, I guess I should get started on HTMLing, huh? 

**Last One, Promise:** Oi, I just read something about the L.A. Times (which I don't own by the way) saying that there's a good possibility that POA (which I also don't own) is going to be PG-13! That would be AWESOME!!! It would get some of the little kiddies out of the theater. Last year I had to sit by a two year old that would start SCREAMING every time Dumbledore would come on. Honestly, Dumbledore!!! Ok, now I'm going to go. Adios! 


	14. Whatever, Together

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Siriusly Amused_

**Author's Note:** It's been months since I last updated and once again, I'm sorry. If you have been reading from the start and you're still coming back, then I am eternally thankful to you. I'm forcing myself to start trying to get this story finished. In the beginning, several chapters would be dedicated to a month but now I think I'm going to try to speed things up. I'm already starting on the sequel to this. If I have a goal then maybe working toward it will be easier. I just want you guys to know that I'm still here and I'm not planning on going anywhere. 

**Another Author's Note:** -sighs- Stupid MSN messenger (which I don't own) didn't inform me that they upgraded to a newer version, the one with sounds. So now all my friends are having a ball with these new sounds and stuff and one of my friends who shall remain nameless -coughs- M -coughs- told me to go to the site and download it. Well I am and it's taking over an hour. Which really isn't good cuz I get charged by the minute for being on the internet. I have one hour and five minutes left. Grrness. 

**Disclaimer:** Disclaimers suck. 

Chapter Fourteen:

_Whatever, Together_

**

°°°Ron°°°

**

"May the Lord...be with you." 

It was midnight mass on Christmas Eve and the nearly the whole of Hogwarts Hills had managed to squeeze themselves into our church. My entire family, Bill, Charlie, Percy and their girlfriends included, filled one pew. Hermione sat two pews in front of us with her parents. She has perfect church manners and only turned around to smile at me once before the mass started. Angelina and her parents sat in the pew behind us and she stayed awake by poking Fred repeatedly in the head. Knowing Mom's temper, Fred did nothing to stop her. Of course, who would want to stop their girlfriend from touching them? George was still single so he had no significant other to make googly eyes to in church. Though I noticed Katie hanging out with him more. And lastly, Harry sat with Sirius at the back of the church. The two of them were probably laughing at all the lame holiday sweaters. I would have done anything to be there laughing with them instead of being uncomfortably squashed between Ginny and George while our old priest dragged the mass on. 

It was the same priest that had hit Harry, and after three years of him saying mass, it's now painfully obvious that midnight is extremely passed his bedtime. He stood at the podium, fighting to keep his eyes from closing. Half way through his sermon he failed and fell asleep standing right there in front of everyone. After a minute or two of an awkward silence, our organist slammed down upon the keys of the organ. 

"Smite him," our priest mumbled as he was forced back into reality. He blinked sleepily and then continued on with his sermon. 

Finally, after an hour and a half of kneeling, standing, and blessing myself for unknown reasons, church ended. Ginny and I walked out of building before the rest of our family only to be greeted with a wave of cold air and wet snow balls. In the courtyard next to our church, children ranging from five to twenty were having a giant snow ball fight. Ok, I was lying about the ages...Sirius was helping Harry stock up on snow ball ammunition. 

"Oh, honestly, aren't we getting a bit old for this?" Hermione asked as a large snowball, courtesy of Dean, hit her arm. 

"Well some of us don't have the mental age of thirty six," I told her. She scoffed at me and began to walk off but I grabbed her arm and dragged her into the courtyard where Ginny was already helping Sirius and Harry get rid of their pile of snowballs. 

"Ronald Weasley, these are my good clothes!" she exclaimed while dodging a giant snowball thrown by Colin. 

"So I'll just have to protect you," I reasoned, taking her into my arms and blocking her from a fresh wave of snow. She tried to look mad but was unable to so instead she just buried her face into my coat. 

"Oh, will you two find a mistle toe or something?" Ginny asked, slamming a wet snowball on top of my head, soaking my hair. 

"Ginny, you little..." I yelled as I chased after her. Unfortunately a group of six-year-olds became between us and I fell from trying to stop for them suddenly. 

"Good one, Weasel," came a drawling voice from somewhere above me. I looked up to find the one and only Draco Malfoy smirking down at me. He was in his best Versace suit and he stood just behind his parents as they talked to the Mayor. (He hasn't been allowed to participate in the snow ball fight since he was nine. Keeping up appearances or something like that.) I was about to curse at him when he brought one of his hands from behind his back and handed me a snowball, compacted perfectly for maximum throwing. "Use it well," he stated before turning back around to look important with his parents. 

"Miracles do happen," I mumbled in disbelief as I stood and aimed the snowball at Ginny. My aim was perfect thanks to the years of little league that my brothers and I were forced to participate in every summer until junior high. However, Ginny's women's intuition was better and she ducked to pick up some fresh snow just as my snowball was about to hit. I ended up hitting Hermione square in the face instead. 

"Why do you have to act like such a boy?" Hermione yelled. And then she turned and stormed off to join her parents. 

"What does she want me to act like?" I asked to no one. 

"A man probably," Sirius stated, coming up next to me. He had a snowball in his hand that had several bites taken out of it. 

"How do I do that?" I asked him as he took another bite out of the snow. 

"How the hell should I know?" Sirius asked back. "I'm a thirty six-year-old playing in the snow with the town's children." 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

It was 2:00 AM on Christmas morning and I was sitting in the dining room with Sirius. The both of us had changed into warm pajamas and were drinking hot chocolate to warm up after the snow ball fight. "So," Sirius stated as he dropped several marshmallows into his drink, "Molly is expecting us at the house at three. Do you know how to make fudge? She asked for some." I nodded. "Good! Well, I think it's time for us to hit the hay. Santa doesn't come when you're awake, you know." 

I gave him a look. 

"I know you don't believe in him anymore, but I do so off to bed with ya." Sirius grabbed our mugs and walked over to the sink. 

"Sirius," I stated, willing my saliva to come back to my dry mouth. I wanted to ask him something that had been bugging me for several weeks. 

"Yes?" Sirius asked. He yawn and stretched. 

"Why didn't you tell me that you're second cousins with Draco?" 

Sirius stared at me with a grave expression on his face. "Who told you that?" he asked, sitting back down at the table. 

"Um, Draco and I stumbled upon some old files while looking for an encyclopedia." 

"So Draco knows about our blood relation as well?" 

"Unless he's dumber than I thought." 

Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Did Draco let his parents know that he knows?" 

"What does that have to do with anything?" 

"A lot," Sirius said. "Lucius Malfoy is a powerful man, Harry. A very powerful man. He could get away with murder if he wanted to, and my other cousins can as well. They all hate me and I'm not considered part of the family anymore. I never was since I was disowned at such a young age. Draco is the youngest member of the family. The whole of the Malfoy empire rests upon his shoulders. Therefore they don't want Draco to know about our relation. If Draco was to betray them, then all hell would break loose...for both sides." 

"Both sides of what?" I asked, but Sirius waved me off. 

"Go to bed," he commanded. "We'll open presents in the morning." 

**

°°°Hermione°°°

**

I had just gone to bed when I heard a tapping at my window. The poem, 'The Raven' flashed through my brain so I decided just to pretend that I didn't hear it, but the tapping persisted. After I couldn't take it anymore, I got up and went to my window. Ron was there. I held up a finger to let him know to wait a minute and I went to turn the security alarm off. After it was disabled, I went back to my room and opened my window to let Ron in. 

"Ron, it's three in the morning," I scolded him as he climbed through my window. Snow fell from his coat and hat as he took them off. He held his items of clothing for a few moments, looking around my room for a place to put them. After a few minutes of looking confused, he merely shrugged and threw them both into my overly large trash can. 

"I know it's late," he stated, turning to face me with an impish grin on his face., "and I'm sorry, but I wanted to give you your present." 

I nearly choked on my own spittle. He had gotten me a present and all I gave him for Christmas was a good scolding for playing in the snow? 

"I thought we decided no presents?" I asked him. I began to feel nervous and had a great urge to pace. I should have at least baked him some cookies. Why didn't I bake him some cookies? 

"I know, I know," he continued, "but I've been meaning to give this to you for a long time, so I thought tonight was as good a night as any." 

"At three in the morning?" I asked, raising my voice a little. I was torn between being angry and giddy. 

"I apologized for that already," he stated with a slight laugh. I started slapping his arms for being both stupid and cute at the same time, but he caught my wrists with his hands after a couple of hits and kissed me lightly on the lips. He pulled away and looked at me, something shown in his eyes while he gazed at me but I couldn't put my finger on what it was. When he saw that I had calmed down, he smiled and kissed my forehead, eyes and cheeks before leaning in and kissing me softly once more on the lips. 

He released his hold on my wrists and brought his hands to my waist to pull me closer to him as he deepened our kiss. One part of my brain was telling me to slap him, to push him away. He was in my bedroom at a highly inappropriate time of night and I had every right to order him out! But the other half of my brain, the stronger half obviously, made me wrap my arms around his neck. 

He broke away from my lips to place innocent little pecks all over my face and neck, making me giggle in the process. 

"Alright, alright, you're forgiven," I told him in between giggles. I snuggled my head under his chin and sighed contently. He placed a soft kiss on the top of my head then broke away. 

"So are you ready for your present?" he asked, smiling once more. 

I nodded. It wasn't too late to bake anyway. 

"All right, close your eyes and give me your hand." 

I closed my eyes and held out my hand, palm up, waiting for him to put something in it. He didn't. He took my hand into his own and slipped something cold and hard on my index finger. "Ok, you can open your eyes," he said, still holding my hand. I opened my eyes and gasped. His class ring, already adjusted with string to fit my finger, glistened in the moonlight. The Weasleys, even Ginny, never wore their class rings because the rings were so expensive that none of them wanted to loose them. Ron entrusting me with his meant more than all the scholarships in the world. 

"I..." I looked up at Ron and smiled, letting my facial expression tell him what I couldn't with words. 

"I knew you and Ginny were the same ring size, so I had her try it own while I was fixing it for you," he explained. "It took hours and Ginny was beginning to get pissy by the end of it, but it was worth it." 

I continued to smile because quite frankly I forgot how to talk. Ron smiled too, but his smile soon began to falter as he turned from romantic prince charming back to oblivious teenage boy. "Well, um, I guess I'll be seeing you then," he said, letting me go and fetching his things from the trash can. My mind urged me to give him something as well. 

"Wait!" I said at last as he made to climb out of my window. I rushed over to my dresser and grabbed something, concealing in in my hands as I walked back to Ron, who was sitting on my window sill with one leg in and one leg out. I kept the object from my dresser tightly obscured in one hand as I slowly reached for Ron with my other hand. His coat was unzipped so I placed my hand on his chest for a few moments, feeling the soft fabric of his sweater before I reached under his collar. I blushed as my fingers lightly brushed the skin of his collarbone. He blushed slightly too, but smiled and made no movement to stop me as my hand wandered and finally found what it was looking for; the thin, silver chain that Bill had given Ron before going off to college. 

I brought both of my hands around to the back of Ron's neck and unclasped the necklace. I quickly slipped my class ring on it and clasped it again, letting the ring fall and hit his chest as my hands lingered behind his neck. He smiled. 

"I was wondering if you'd give me something," he whispered. I smiled. 

"I was debating about this and my virginity for about ten seconds," I admitted, looking down, embarrassed. Ron's blush intensified as did his smile. 

"Hearing you say that is the best Christmas present I ever got." He took my hands and kissed them. "But I don't want you to do anything with me until you're one hundred percent ready. It won't be fun for me, if it isn't for you." 

"Ron, that's so..." Tears were welling up in my eyes but I didn't know why. 

"I'd rather have you yell out my name in ecstasy than in torment," he stated with a sly grin. 

I grinned slyly also and pushed him out of my window. He landed on his back with a soft thud in the snow. "Idiot," I stated as a leaned my head out of my window and smiled at him. He sat up and smiled too. 

"Nerd," he said before kissing me quickly and running from my yard. 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

_'If Draco was to betray them, then all hell would break loose...for both sides.'_

Sirius' words ran through my head as I tried to will myself to sleep at four in the morning. That one sentence had brought a ton of questions and revelations to my conscious mind. It told me that whatever fray the Malfoy family and my own family faced all those years ago still existed. But what was the fighting about? Why had Peter killed my parents and did he act alone or was the Malfoy family connected somehow? What are the Malfoy's planning now and did I have something to do with it? What are their plans for Draco? Does Draco know of these intentions that his family has for him? 

I turned to my side to try to clear my head, but more revelations appeared. 

_'If Draco was to betray them...'_

Draco had changed within the past couple months. Ever since his break up with Pansy, he has been hanging around us and acting more like a human being, granted a narcissistic one. His family has obviously noticed the melting façade of their son's demeanor as well, and were now on pins and needles over what to do about it. If Draco was to reject his family, all hell would break loose and lots of people would pay. But what would happen if he stayed forever a Malfoy? 

I sighed and got up. After fetching myself a soda, I went into what Sirius and I have deemed an office though it still looked like a pig sty and sat down at the computer. After about an hour of playing games, I heard the familiar 'ding' of MSN messenger, signaling that someone has signed on. I looked at the little blue box that had appeared and recognized Draco's sign in name. My mouse instinctively went over to click but I thought better of it, he, however, did not. 

**'What are you doing up so late?'** he asked. 

**'Couldn't sleep.'**

**'Me either. I just finished a fight with my parents.'**

**'What was it about?'**

**'They saw me giving a snow ball to Weasel the third, which he apparently threw at his wench, the stupid idiot. They don't want me fraternizing with those beneath me, you know. Therefore they have forbidden me to accompany them on a skiing trip in Colorado tomorrow. They'll be gone until after New Years, thank God.' **

'Oh.' Hearing that Draco's parents were becoming angry with Draco and that Draco himself seemed to be siding with us (ignoring the name calling) gave me a sinking feeling in my stomach. 

**'Anyway,'** Draco continued, initiating a game of checkers with me, **'I'm having a New Years party at my house. The whole school is invited of course so be sure to tell all your friends.'**

I gave no reply and opted to allow Draco to beat me at checkers as quickly as possible before telling him that I needed to go and getting offline. 

**

°°°Draco°°°

**

I awoke on New Year Eve's morning to the blasted sound of my damn alarm clock. I had to get up early to get the house ready for the party (as part of my punishment, my parents gave all the servants the rest of the holiday season off). I didn't bother with showering or looking nice since I would just be getting dirty again and have to shower right before the guests arrived. Several hours later I had only made a dent in my preparations when the doorbell rang. 

"Marietta!" I called. "Marietta, the door!" Then I realized that the whole reason that I was doing manual labor in the first place was because Marietta was not there. "Fucking hell, I've got to do everything myself, don't I?" I threw my dust rag down and went into the foyer. "Yeah, what do you want?" I asked grumpily when I pulled the door open. There stood Noelle. 

"Hi," she said shyly, looking up and down my disheveled frame. I tried running my hands through my hair so that it wouldn't fall into my eyes so much but to no avail; I had a bad case of Potter head today. 

"Hi," I said, brushing dirt off of my T-shirt. "What are you doing here?" 

"Well, I thought you could use a little help getting ready for the party." 

"Oh, well, if you want." I stood aside so she could come in. 

"Where are your parents?" she asked. 

"Gone skiing," I replied. "You can put the table cloths on that table there," I instructed, pointing to a table and a bag of brightly colored paper table cloths. We worked in silence for several uncomfortable minutes. 

"So, er, how was your Christmas?" I asked. 

She shrugged. "Fine. My mom cooked, Grandma knitted, Dad laughed a lot and my brother sulked in a corner. How was yours?" 

"I opened presents by myself on Christmas morning." 

I didn't know why I said it. It was the truth but who was she to know about my home life? 

"That's horrible!" she stated, coming over near me to fetch napkins to put on the table by the Chex Mix. 

"There are worse things," I said, as I pulled a box of string party lights to hang around the room. Noelle came and helped me. 

"Like what?" she asked. 

"Like not having Christmas at all." Where the hell did that come from? "You know, like the poor kids in shelters." When did I figure out about shelters and poor kids? Who was this girl and how is she managing to make me act all weird? And why the hell does my stomach have that fluttery feeling again? I haven't eaten the school's goulash in weeks! 

Both Noelle and I were standing on chairs to hang the lights. 

"Yeah, but at least the children in shelters have families to be with," she said. 

"Yeah, well that has it's downside as well." 

"Like what?" 

"Like siblings who poke you incessantly." And with that I poked her in her side. She startled and stumbled off of her chair, grabbing my arm and taking me with her. We both stumbled awkwardly but managed to stay on our feet with her in my arms the whole time. We were both laughing and I noticed my hands getting sweaty though it was a bit drafty in the big room. After a few seconds Noelle stopped laughing and looked into my eyes. Her gaze was piercing and must have been uncomfortable for her as well because she looked up. 

She quickly blushed however, and gently pulled from my embrace. I looked up and saw the mistle toe that my mother had hung in hopes of getting a kiss from my father (she didn't' by the way). Noelle blushed even more furiously and turned to go back to the chair, but my arm shot out and took a hold of her wrist without consulting my brain. Then my head lowered itself instinctively and my lips kissed her on their own accord. 

Afterwards she smiled and looked pointedly at my chest as if she would fall into a fit of giggles were she to look into my eyes. After a few embarrassed laughs we went back to work. 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

It seemed as if the whole school had turned out for Draco's party. Fred and George had permanently taken over the karaoke machine, Collin was trying to stay as far away from the alcohol as he possibly could, Ginny giggled at my side and pulled on my arm incessantly to try to get me to dance, and Ron, Hermione and all the other of my friends were crowded around Draco as he told jokes that they apparently found hilarious. I couldn't stand it. 

_'If Draco was to betray them...'_

My hormones kicked in right then. I shrugged Ginny off and stormed over to where Draco was. He stopped mid-joke and smiled at me. 

"Hello, Potter, I was just telling them about..." 

But I never found out what he was telling them because at that exact moment I punched him. 

"Harry, what the hell?" he asked as he staggered back. 

Hermione had a hand covering her mouth in shock and Ginny had rushed to my side, screaming. 

I geared up for another blow but Ron grabbed my arm. 

"What's the matter with you?" he hissed through clenched teeth. I glared past him at Draco who seemed the most calm; almost as if he knew why I did it. I turned to Ginny. 

"Come on, Ginny, we're leaving!" 

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" 

I stopped in my tracks and turned to face her. 

"What?" I whispered. It felt as if my soul had been sucked out of me. 

"What has gotten into you?" 

"Ginny, I..." 

"Just don't talk to me, you make me sick!" She stormed off to the bathroom. Hermione gave me a hurt glance before following her. I stood there with my mouth open like a freaking guppy. 

"What the hell just happened?" 

Billy Beerbomb wobbled over and drunkenly threw a hand around my shoulders. "You hit Draco for no reason and your girlfriend just broke up with you," he informed before being violently sick on my sneakers. 

**

°°°Sirius°°°

**

Harry stormed through the door several hours earlier than what I expected. "Oh good, you're up," he stated before going into a long drawn out conversation about how Draco was being overly friendly and normal. "And I just got so frustrated because I don't want any trouble and I don't want to end up like my parents, so I thought if I punched Draco he would come to his senses and be evil again!" 

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. 

"Harry, don't try to take things into your own hands. Your parents tried that and look what happened to them. We're not meant to rule our future. Just let things be and whatever happens will happen and you'll take care of it as it happens. If another foray is destined to occur then there's nothing you can do about it." 

Harry was silent for awhile. 

"So what should I do? My friends all hate me and Ginny broke up with me?" 

"Apologize to Draco. You're friends will come around and eventually Ginny will too. Now, what happened to your sneakers? I just bought you those!" 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

I saw Draco in the men's room before first period on the first day back from break. The bathroom was empty and Draco was drying his hands under the dryer. 

"Hi," I said, sticking my hands in my pockets. Draco turned his head to look at me and I saw a feint bruise on his cheek. "Sorry about that," I said, pointing to the mark. 

"It's ok," Draco said, hitting the button again. "You were drunk." 

"I wasn't..." 

"You were drunk," Draco stated again, finishing his hands and placing one on my shoulder while giving me an understanding glance before walking out of the bathroom. The bell rang but I didn't go to class. I stood in the bathroom gazing despondently at my reflection. It was official, Draco had chosen his side and he chose us, and now there was nothing to do but to brace myself for whatever would come. Draco's understanding glare gave me only a little assurance. He knew what going against his parents meant and he was going to be right there with me. Ron, Hermione, Fred, George; they'd all be there too. We'll face whatever, together. 

**End Author's Note:** Chapter Fourteen is DONE! WOOHOO!!! So how did you like this nice LONG chapter? I kind of like it. The only problem is that I'm not sure where to go from here, see, I know how this fic is going to end, but I don't know how to get there. Nice, long reviews will help me get there faster though!!! -wink, wink- Be sure to tell me what you liked and hated about this chapter and include anything that you'd either like to see happen or stuff you don't want to see happen at all. 


	15. Blundering Idiots

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Siriusly Amused_

**Author's Note:** This seems to be another difficult chapter to write, but the good news is that I'm beginning to fill in some of the missing pieces of the puzzle. You should all pray that I don't forget them or go into another bout of writer's block. Yes, it is summer again which means no 7 hour days of school prohibiting my writing. However, this summer I have a job. I work at a small movie theatre 20 miles from my home. But I don't work 7 hour shifts except for the few times that I'll have to work matinee till close, therefore I should have more time to write! Of course I have a few excursions planned for this summer...like skydiving for instance (shh...no one tell me mum) but I hope to squeeze out chapters at least once a month...hopefully more. Oh blah, my boss just called and told me that it's a slow week so I don't have to come in tomorrow or the next day. I need money. Oh well, at least I'll be able to write. 

**Disclaimer:** You should all know by now that I own nothing, but to please the lawyers; I don't own...the Harry Potter universe...Beyoncé...the movie theater that I work at...Jennifer Lopez or her marriages...Eminem...Kermit the Frog...and the Beatles. 

Chapter Fifteen

_Blundering Idiots_

**

°°°Draco°°°

**

"I'm in love with Noelle!" 

I sat bolt up right in bed, panting as sweat dripped down my bare chest. It was three in the morning on January 20th. I don't know how the realization had come to me because I had been dreaming about an evil spider taking over the school. It was a little spider too, and everyone had to look at their seats before they sat down incase they sat on the spider. Noelle hadn't even been in the dream and yet I woke up and realized that I was, and pardon my Beyoncé, crazy in love with her. It made perfect sense! She was the reason for my sudden change. Why I gave up Ginny. Why Potter was the closest thing to my best friend. Why my stomach got all knotty and my hands sweaty. Why I suddenly did good things for no reason at all. I was in love. And my dad was going to kill me as soon as he found out. 

Malfoy's don't fall in love. We marry whoever will bare us the most beautiful children. Now that I knew that I was in love, I needed to tell someone. I got online but seeing as it was a school night and three in the morning, no one was on. I couldn't sleep so I went upstairs to get some warm milk. 

I stumbled over my own feet and stubbed my toe before entering the kitchen where I went to the refrigerator and opened it. After my eyes adjusted to the refrigerator's light, I grabbed the milk and, as a second thought, the chocolate as well. I was about to add some marsh mellows to my hot chocolate when my father drowsily walked into the room. 

"Don't you have school tomorrow?" he asked in annoyance. I nodded. He glared at me for a bit then made himself a bowl of cereal. I was about to take my milk down into my bedroom to escape his icy presence when he talked yet again. "So what do you know about that Potter boy?" 

"Harry?" I asked in confusion. 

"No, Florence! Yes, Harry, how many other Potters do we know who are still living?" 

I shrank back a bit in fear and sat down at the table to put some distance between me and my father. "Well, I don't know. He's fairly smart. Pretty good at soccer though he has nothing on me of course. He's been acting a bit weird lately though." 

"Weird?" asked my father, still glaring at me. 

"Yeah." 

"How is he weird? Other than being the spawn of James and Lily." 

"Well, on New Years he broke up with Ginny Weasley. Big mistake if I ever saw one." My father made a face of disgust. "Really, Father, she is kind of pretty. I had a thing for her myself at the beginning of the school year...nothing personal, I just wanted to have a go with her!" I added as my father blanched, if that were even possible. My father smirked just a bit. 

"And how was she?" 

I shrugged. "I don't know, I let Potter have her as soon as I realized he cared for her. I backed off and have been a bachelor ever since." 

"Why?" I barely heard the question for my father had whispered it with barely a breath. He stood, fixated on me, his stance rigid and his cereal forgotten. 

"Well, a lot of girls are taken these days. I'm having a bit of a problem finding one." 

"No, why did you just let Potter have the Weasley girl." 

"Well, he was crazy for her and that's what friends do." I winced. My tiredness had let my tongue slip and I had said the magic word. My father glared at me for what seemed like an eternity before he slowly walked over to where I sat and, without saying a word, dumped his cereal on my head. The cold milk trickled down my face and into my eyes as the blurred figure of my father disappeared from the kitchen. 

Since I figured that I would not be able to go back to sleep, I showered and spent an extra long time getting ready for school. But I looked ten times better than I normally did and I caused no less than five feinting spells on the bus alone that morning (my SUV was in the shop after I skidded on some ice and hit a deer). 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

First hour health had manifested itself into first hour study hall. Our study hall teacher, Ms. Umbridge, is to this day the single most annoying person on the face of the planet. The fact that she looks like a toad helps very little. She had put me in detention the first week I had her for coughing too loudly, though I think her fake, 'hem hem' was much worse than my bout of bronchitis. The massive amount of homework along with my detentions had prevented me from explaining my bad behavior at Draco's party to Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the others, therefore for the first week of second semester, my only friend was Draco. The two of us shared some weird understanding, and it was scary. 

The Saturday night after my first week of school I asked Ron, Hermione and Ginny to meet me at Ern's Pizza to talk. Ron and Hermione came, bundled up against the blistering cold of January and sat across the table from me, nibbling on their pizzas thoughtfully. 

"So you see, I just think that Lucius Malfoy is up to something and I think it has to do with me and Sirius. Sirius had fought with him a couple of months ago. I'm not supposed to know, but I overheard Sirius talking about it on the phone with one of his friends. Anyway, I think that Draco's sudden goodness has pissed Lucius off and he's now after me because he thinks that I'm the reason for Draco's change. So I thought that if I pissed Draco off, he would go back to normal and I could stop worrying." 

Ron laughed outright, choking on his soda as he did so, even Hermione smirked a little. "Harry," she said, "I think the priest hit you with his car a bit harder than Dr. Khai thought. You're obviously delusional. I don't blame you for fearing Lucius Malfoy, God knows the rest of us do, all that money and no one, not even Draco, knows what he does for a living. But I highly doubt that he's after you or Sirius. Sirius is his cousin for God's sake!" I had told Ron and Hermione of Sirius' blood relation to the Malfoys soon after Sirius admitted it. 

It pained me that my two best friends were taking this news so lightly, but they forgave me for being an ass. Ginny on the other hand still wasn't talking to me. Ron was thrilled but Hermione gave me some sympathy. 

"She has her reasons, Harry. What with your fight with her brothers and then your sudden moodiness, any girl would get frustrated. But just give her time. She's fourteen and still very immature. Let it be for now and if it's meant to be you'll get back together. In the mean time, there are other fish in the see. I hear Padma is recently single and she's had her eye on you for quite some time." 

So that was how I ended up going out with Padma. She was very easy on the eyes and Sirius had nudged me in a 'that's my boy' way when I brought her home for dinner one evening. But Padma was not as intellectually stimulating as Ginny was and I found myself zoning out for hours at a time as she discussed Jennifer Lopez's latest marriage. 

My second week of school was also spent in detention for Ms. Umbridge caught me cursing at a piece of paper that just wouldn't go into the trash can (I'm a soccer player, not a basketball player and my aim apparently sucks). 

My detentions, flippant girlfriend, weird connection with Draco, annoyance that Ron and Hermione didn't believe that I was in danger, and mounting homework made my life seem as if it were in a state of perpetual blahness. I was feeling that blahness first hour on January 20th. 

"Why such a long face, Potter?" Draco asked, coming into the library as the bell beeped. I was sitting at our normal table with my head flat down upon its top. I lifted my head for a moment and watched as Draco took out his geometry homework. I then placed my head back upon the table, inches away from the 'Fred and George were here freshman year' etching. 

"Life sucks," I told Draco. 

"That it does," Draco responded. "Are these lines congruent?" he asked, shoving his notebook at me. I nodded and he went back to work. 

"Hem hem." 

"God, kill me now," I mumbled to the table. 

"No sleeping, Mr. Potter! I believe another week of detentions will..." 

"Oh, come on now, Ms. Umbridge!" Draco pleaded, gracing her with a smile that she didn't deserve. "Harry wasn't sleeping, he's just depressed so give the guy a break, will ya?" Umbridge giggled stupidly as Draco swept a lock of bleached hair out of his gray eyes. "Besides," Draco continued, running a finger up and down the hand that Umbridge had placed upon the desk, "you look much too pretty to stay after school with a detention, and I hear it's ladies night over at the pub." 

"Great, send her to Sirius," I mumbled, but Umbridge didn't hear me. She giggled uncontrollably and let me off with a warning as she skipped back to her desk. "Thanks," I said dolefully to Draco. 

"No problem!" Draco exclaimed as he closed his homework. "Now you can help me." 

I raised an eyebrow. 

"I think I'm in love," Draco announced. 

"Draco." I paused. "I'm straight." 

Draco scowled and threw his protractor at me. "I'm in love with a girl!" he exclaimed. 

"...oh." 

Draco sighed and continued. "Noelle. I don't know how I fell for her, but I did and now I don't know what to do." 

"Most people ask the girl out." 

"But what if she doesn't like me!" 

"Use your charm." 

"I'm a blundering idiot around her!" 

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I think you're always a blundering idiot but I still hang around you." I paused again as Draco thought it over. "Speaking of which, would your father approve of a girl like Noelle? I thought you only seriously dated the daughters of Lucius' friends." 

"Father doesn't approve of her, but he doesn't approve of a lot of people that I've been hanging out with." 

We were silent for the rest of study hall. 

**

°°°Ginny°°°

**

"All right, girls, after much pleading and arm twisting, I have managed to get the Hagrid's class to agree to stay in the gym this week and let us have the weight room!" Ms. Hooch announced as we stood in our attendance lines. I glanced behind me and saw the lines of kids glaring at us. Harry and Ron were laughing over some joke. 

I caught up with Hermione as we walked into the weight room. "Partner?" I asked. 

"Of course!" she said, smiling. We found an easy leg machine and she started as I stood in front of her. We talked about lunch and Dumbledore's latest antics (he came to school wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt that day) before we had a short silence. 

"So, have you heard from Harry?" I asked her though I knew the answer. 

"Yeah, we've been talking again for the past week. He hit Draco because he firmly believes that Lucius, Draco's father, is out to kill him. It's almost as if he's having visions of his future or something. I think he's off his rocker." 

"Ah," I said vaguely. "Is it true that he's going out with Padma?" 

Hermione heaved a huge sigh at this. "Unfortunately! And to think I hooked those two up. Now she follows Harry around like a sick puppy and bores all of us to death. Ron is ten times more intelligent than she is and that's saying something!" 

"You set them up?" I asked slightly shocked. Hermione blushed. 

"Well, you see, you weren't answering his calls and...oh, Ginny you made a voodoo doll of him and..." 

"Alright, alright, I get it. I messed up. So I'm assuming that Harry is head over heals with Padma?" 

"Well actually..." 

"Fine then, I don't need him! I should play the field while I'm young anyway!" 

"Er...Ginny?" 

"Not now, Hermione!" I stormed over to where some boys from my grade were benching. "Hi!" I said and the boy benching replaced the bar and sat up. 

"Wotcher, Ginny!" Michael said. 

"Wotcher?" I asked, confused. 

"It means..." 

"Never mind, I was wondering if you wanted to see a movie with me this Friday night?" 

"Er...sure...why not?" 

**

°°°Hermione°°°

**

"I can't believe we're going to dissect a fetal pig!" 

"So Ginny goes over and sits by him and his immature friends at lunch!" 

"I mean, when we dissected the frog last year, I kept hearing, 'Hello, Kermit de frog here'!" 

"Ginny's dating someone new already!?" 

"Not to mention dead pigs can't smell good." 

"Which one was he?" 

"The dark one." 

"I didn't like him." 

"You wouldn't, Ron." 

"Well he had a shifty look to him." 

"HELLO? You guys are supposed to be helping me get ready for the dissection tomorrow!" Lavender yelled during seventh hour study hall, making Ron, Dean, Seamus and I jump. "I mean what if I slice Mr. Pig's neck and slash his aorta in the process?" 

"His aorta is in his heart, Lav," Seamus said while working on his Spanish homework. 

"I'd like to slash Michael's aorta," Ron stated glumly, drawing a pig on his pig dissection workbook. 

"Now, Ron, stay out of this. You know what happened the last time you interfered with Ginny's relationships!" 

"Yes, and now I'm missing Harry dreadfully. I don't get it. Why aren't they still together?" 

"Well, I'm kind of glad that they aren't!" I stated while finishing my French homework. I felt several sets of eyes bore into me. 

"What?" Ron asked, his ears turning a bit pink. 

"I believe that Harry and Ginny are meant for one another, but I don't think either of them realizes it. They're both really immature and they both need to grow. So I think some time apart will be good for them." 

Lavender nodded her agreement while fussing with Seamus' hair. The three boys were looking at us girls in disbelief. 

"What's in those magazines you girls read?" asked Ron, fiddling around in his backpack for a poptart. 

**

°°°Principal Dumbledore°°°

**

I was admiring my beard which the Weasley twins had braided while I scolded them for playing Eminem music in the computer lab when the door to my office burst open and in walked Sirius Black. "Sirius!" I exclaimed brightly as Sirius pulled up a chair and sat down. 

"Harry's finding out," he stated flatly, the playful gleam gone from his eye. 

"Finding out what?" I asked. "About the birds and the bees?" 

Sirius stared at me blankly. "I believed he figured that out ages ago," he stated. "He's finding out something bigger. Something about me and his parents from our younger years." 

"Oh, no, Sirius, you're not his real father are you!?" 

"Principal Dumbledore, how could you suggest such a thing?" Sirius looked disgusted. 

"Sorry," I said, sinking back in my armchair. 

Sirius looked tired and ran a hand through his hair. "Harry is curious about his parents death." 

"As any orphan would be," I stated logically. Sirius sighed and gazed at me hopelessly. 

"He's friends with Draco Malfoy now, did you know that?" he asked me. 

I brought my fingers in front of my face and nodded once. "I have noticed the pair conversing in an almost friendly manner of late, yes." 

"Lucius has noticed as well. You know what Lucius has planned for Draco...or at least we can imagine what he has planned for Draco, and I don't think that Draco's sudden kindness or his friendship with normal people has any part in those plans. Lucius has confronted me on several occasions." 

Sirius stopped and stared at me. We were both silent and I heard the Beatles playing in the office and saw the shadows of my secretaries dancing upon their desks through the frosted window of my door. 

"You know how I believe that Lucius is behind Lily and James' deaths," Sirius stated seriously. 

I nodded once again. 

"Well, I think he's after Harry now, and I think Harry knows that as well." 

I sighed and began unbraiding my beard. 

"We have no proof that Lucius is responsible for any deaths, past, present, or future. So keep a wary eye if you must, but don't let it overpower you or Harry. Let Harry be a kid, Sirius. I doubt anything will come from this." 

Sirius looked hurt. 

"For once, Dumbledore, you are wrong. About Lucius' intentions anyway. But you are right about being happy. Until I have reason to worry, I will be happy, and Harry too. But I'm only doing it because I truly believe that soon, our worlds will come crashing down." 

**End Author's Note:** Well that took a couple of hours as it usually does. M is reading over my shoulder. I can't type when people do that. She wants to watch Moulin Rouge...I don't. I want to go to the next chapter. But I don't know what I want to do in that chapter. So I am at a loss. I'll post this tomorrow...after I get back from furniture shopping with my mum. But since I don't have to work tomorrow evening -grumbles about the recession- I guess I could do it then. And type the next chapter. It's nearly ten. M doesn't know if she wants to watch Moulin Rouge anymore. She's sitting next to me like a dog...I typed God at first and now she's laughing and saying, 'thank you'...but her sitting reminds me of Sirius...-sniffles- SIRIUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

**Another Author's Note:** Well it's about an hour later and M and I have now retreated to the basement (we both have laptops) so not to disturb my sleepy family. It's very cold down here and I can't help but think about how I need to get to bed for I know I will be roused by my parents at 8 in the morning tomorrow, but I don't care. I have been rereading some of my past Hogwarts High chapters and I have realized that I really don't like chapter 14...I liked the beginning when they were in church but that was about it. And I didn't like the Ron Hermione scene because it just wasn't really them. But I think this chapter has made up somewhat for last chapter and I promise some good Ron/Hermione soon. M just dropped a peanut in her laptop and now it smells like a peanut and she's disgruntled. Anywho, I want to apologize for breaking Harry and Ginny up but someone once told me that the story wasn't the same with out the sexual tension and I highly agree. I had thought that with Draco/Noelle still not together that would help but in the end I decided that one of the couples just had to break up and I just couldn't break Ron and Hermione up when things have been going so good for them. Besides, Ron and Hermione fight all the time and it would have to take a huge fight to break them up where as Harry and Ginny need to learn tolerance. Plus Harry and Ginny would be more independent anyway. This is ridiculously long and my feet are cold and I need to pee so adieu. 

**This is Ridiculous:** I just realized that I made Padma an idiot in this chapter when we all know that she's in Ravenclaw and a prefect therefore she can't be but it's my fic so there! 


	16. Old People

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Siriusly Amused_

**Author's Note:** Another hour has past since last chapter's ending author's note. We are still cold and still in the basement and my parents keep coming down and telling us to shut up. This is the second night they had to come downstairs and tell us to shut up. I think they regret having children but honestly it's not my fault that the floor/ceiling is so thin. 

**Another Author's Note:** Reviews are very cool! 

**Disclaimer:** My bum hurts...I own my bum...but I don't own...Harry Potter...Oil of Olay...the Heimlich Maneuver...Coldplay...Charlotte's Web...Friends...Muse 

Chapter Sixteen

_Old People_

**

°°°Sirius°°°

**

"Let's play rock, paper, scissors!" I stated giddily. 

"Why?" 

"Because I haven't played it in awhile!" 

We bobbed our hands three times and I chose scissors and Remus chose rock. I gazed at him despondently. "I hate you." Remus smiled and we both went back to unpacking his things. I had moved the computer into Harry's room and the rest of the 'office' into my room so that Remus would have a place to stay. 

"I really appreciate this, Sirius," he said as I helped him make the bed. "I mean, giving me a place to stay." I waved him off. 

"Honestly I'm glad you're here. Raising Harry is a lot harder than I thought it would be. James had his work cut out for him, let me tell you. Harry's all moody and confused. Not to mention the PTA meetings and cooking healthy food so that Harry grows big and strong." 

Remus was laughing. "Well, I'm glad to be of help. Harry was one of my brightest students back when he was in 8th grade. Nothing on Hermione Granger, but he definitely has Lily's brains." 

"Why thank you, Mr. Lupin," Harry stated. He had just returned home from school. "But why are you in the pig sty...I mean office?" 

"He's staying here, Harry," I stated. "He's between jobs and has been having a bit of a hard time." 

"Oh?" asked Harry. 

"Yes, well remember when I told the class how to hotwire a car?" Remus asked Harry. Harry nodded. "And remember that day after school, Draco tried it and ran a car into the basketball hoop?" Harry nodded yet again. "Well they fired me after that year because of it." 

Harry gasped. "Those bastards!" 

"Language, Harry," Remus scolded. 

"Err, I let him curse, Remus, is that bad?" I was ignored. 

"Anyway, that incident along with me looking so shabby due to my insomnia has kept me from having a decent job. Not to mention that the recession isn't helping me any. So Sirius said that I could stay here until I get myself back on my feet, which shouldn't be too long from now. Dumbledore has given me a job at Hogwarts High as a sub. Granted that's not a steady job but next year I will be teaching history and other humanities...Binns is retiring." 

"That's great!" Harry stated. "Well, that causes for some celebration! I'm making pizza!" 

I looked at Remus. "He cooks!" I said giddily. 

**

°°°Ron°°°

**

I had half a mind to shove Draco into my locker that still has an identity crisis. Maybe the locker will start to think that it's a jail cell and never open again, ridding me of Draco's annoying presence. We were walking to our 4th hour English class one day at the end of January and Draco was prancing around me like a cat with rabies and asking me numerous questions. 

"So how should I ask her?" 

"I don't know, Draco." 

"When should I ask her?" 

"Who cares? Whenever." 

"You're no help!" 

"Of course I'm not! You need to ask a girl these questions, not me. Anyone will tell you that I'm no good with women. God only knows how I got Hermione. Where's Harry anyway?" Harry had showered very quickly after P.E. and I couldn't find him where we normally sat in the gym, waiting for the bell to ring. 

"He mumbled something about Spanish," Draco said as we came into English. Mr. Flitwick gave us an evil smile and we both shut up about Harry's whereabouts. "That didn't look good," Draco said in a whisper as we sat down. "What do you think he has up his sleeve?" 

"Who knows," I said as Hermione came in and sat down next to me and in front of Draco. I was wondering if Mom had bought me some more pop tarts when Draco tapped Hermione on the shoulder. 

"Hey, Granger," he whispered as the late bell rang and Harry rushed into the room just in time. I gave Draco a warning glare. What was he doing addressing my girlfriend? Hermione turned around and gave him a quizzical yet polite glare. 

"What?" she asked as Harry, who sat behind me, started poking me in the back repeatedly with his rather sharp number two pencil. 

"Hey, Ron, I need a compass," Harry whispered, taking out his geometry. I ignored him and continued to focus on Draco and Hermione. 

"Would you like to get some pizza at Ern's tonight?" Draco asked. 

Hermione looked confused but ended up shrugging her shoulders. "Sure, as long as I can bring Ginny." 

"WHAT!?" I exclaimed loudly, jumping out of my seat. 

"Great, see you at five then." 

"Oh you definitely will not!" 

"Mr. Weasley sit down and be quiet, please," Mr. Flitwick instructed. "And Mr. Potter, you just barely made it to class. Care to humor us with your reasons why?" 

Harry, who had stopped poking me when I jumped, sighed. "I had to leave P.E. early to finish a Spanish test. Then I went to my locker and Dumbledore stopped me in the hall on my way here to give me a piece of gum. He has a whole bag and has been passing them out to everyone." 

"Really?" Draco asked. 

"Yeah." 

"Hmm...I should find him and get some." Draco had a thoughtful expression on his face. "I ran out of gum yesterday. Um, Mr. Flitwick, I left my Muse CD in the cafeteria, I have to go get it before someone steals it." 

"Sit down, Draco, you can get it after class." 

"Yeah, Draco!" I exclaimed, still peeved over him asking Hermione out. "You need to explain why you're taking MY girlfriend out to dinner." 

"I'm also taking your sister." 

I angrily rummaged through Hermione's pencil bag and pulled out her compass. "Don't make me use this!" I warned him and brandished the pointy end at him. 

"Well you told me to do it!" Draco said in self defense. 

"I most certainly did not!" 

"Yes you did, just a few minutes ago. You told me to talk to girls about my problem and Hermione and Ginny are girls...well...I'm pretty sure they are. I never had my way with them, see, so I wouldn't know for sure." 

"Why you little..." I lunged at Draco but Harry absentmindedly took the compass out of my hand and started using it for his geometry homework. The whole class was watching by now and Mr. Flitwick seemed bored as I pulled Draco's hair. 

"Mr. Weasley, you can come and stand up here by me for the rest of class," Flitwick instructed. 

"But..." 

"Just go," Hermione hissed. 

I released Draco and marched to the front of class. "Good," Mr. Flitwick said once I had got there. "Now I'm sorry to say that we are going to start...SPEECHES." He said the last word as if it were a fun game but believe me, no one was smiling. 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

"Harry, we're going to Ern's Pizza at five tonight," Ron instructed after school. 

"Ron, spying on them will only get us into trouble." I reasoned. 

"Not if they don't recognize us," Ron replied in a conniving manner. And that was how I found myself dressed in Ron's grandma's old clothes at five o'clock that night as we strolled into Ern's Pizza. 

"There they are," Ron said, pointing to a booth where Draco was paying for a large pizza that the waitress had just set down in front of them. 

"Why do I have to be the woman?" I whined as Ron, dressed in old man clothes, pulled me over to the booth next to them. 

"Because that dress made my hips look big," Ron said distractedly as he tried to lean closer to the booth next to us. 

"What will it be?" asked the waitress, coming to our table, her pen ready to take down our order. 

"What? Oh, I don't know, what do old people eat. Um...prunes, we'll each have a bowl of prunes!" Ron stammered, waving the waitress off. 

"I don't like prunes," I whined. 

"You'll eat them and you'll like them," Ron threatened, jabbing a finger at me. 

"How come neither of you have wrinkles?" the waitress asked. 

"Oil of Olay, love, Oil of Olay," I said, patting the waitress' hand in a grandmotherly fashion. 

"Shut up, they're talking!" Ron scolded. 

"Thanks for coming you guys," Draco said. "I know I'm not the nicest person in the world." Both Ginny and Hermione shrugged. 

"Free food," Ginny stated. 

"Well," Draco continued, sucking up a string of cheese that dangled from his mouth. "I have a girl problem and I would really like some advice." Both Hermione and Ginny squeaked in what I, and apparently Ron and Draco, thought to be an annoying fashion for all three of us guys winced. "Erm, yeah, well see, I just realized the other night that I'm falling for Noelle." The girl squeaked again. The waitress came back with our prunes and Ron looked positively sick. 

"And you want to know how to tell her," Hermione guessed. 

I grew bored and started nibbling at my prunes. 

"Yeah!" Draco said. "How did you know?" 

Both girls didn't answer but went into a detailed account of Noelle's favorite things. "She likes vanilla and white roses," Hermione said. 

"Yeah, and Coldplay. She LOVES Coldplay," Ginny added. 

"Aren't Coldplay coming to town soon?" Hermione inquired. 

"On Valentine's Day," Ginny answered. 

"Billy Beerbomb could get tickets, but that would mean that Fred, George, Lee, and Billy would tag along with you two," Hermione informed, looking a bit downtrodden. 

"No problem," said Draco happily. "A bunch of us could go to the concert then I'll have vanilla ice cream and white roses sent to house for when I take her home and next to the bowl of ice cream I'll have a note asking her out!" 

Ron snorted but both girls sighed dreamily. "Draco, that's so romantic," Ginny said, placing her chin in her hand. 

"Yeah, I wish Ron did something like that," Hermione added. Ron looked as if he wanted to shove his prunes down someone's throat. 

"I wish Harry did something like that," Ginny stated in a dreamlike state and both tables became quiet with the exception of me choking on my prunes. Ron started thumping me on the back as I continued to choke. 

"I mean, Michael," Ginny corrected hastily, but Hermione and Draco were now looking our way as I continued to choke and Ron hit my back. 

"Excuse me, Miss, but I know the Heimlich Maneuver if you need it," Draco offered. 

"Er...that's alright young man," Ron stated in a rickety voice. "She does this all the time." 

And with that the two of us hobbled out of Ern's Pizza as fast as we could. 

**

°°°Remus°°°

**

The first week of staying with Sirius and Harry had been pleasant and peaceful. I even began to sleep better. I was actually sleeping one evening when I heard the door to the apartment slam, followed by two nearly baritone voices of teenage boys. I dragged myself out of bed and went to the door of my bedroom only to meet Sirius in the hall. He too looked as if he had been sleeping. 

"Duty calls," Sirius stated, as if he were a mother getting up for a midnight feeding. Sirius stretched and began walking to the kitchen where the voices continued. I followed Sirius and we both stopped short by what we saw. Harry and Ron were in the kitchen and dressed like old people. What was even a bit more disturbing was the fact that Harry was in a dress. 

"Harry, what's going on?" Sirius asked. He went to the refrigerator and peered inside so he wouldn't stare at the boy's attire. 

"I'm utterly confused, that's what's going on," Harry stated angrily. He hitched up his dress and sat down on the counter, revealing pantyhose underneath the flowered garment. 

"You can say that again," muttered Sirius under his breath. He looked as if he wanted a beer very badly. "Care to elaborate why?" 

"I just realized that the spider in Charlotte's Web was a black widow," Ron stated out of no where. "No wonder I was so scared." We ignored Ron's delusional mumblings and focused on Harry. 

"Well," Harry stated as Sirius handed me a beer and opened his own, "today in English Draco Malfoy asked Hermione to meet him up at Ern's Pizza and said that Ginny could come too." 

"When did you guys start hanging out with Draco?" I asked, but I was hushed by Sirius. 

"Hermione said yes for some reason," Harry continued, "and Ron here of course got jealous." 

"Did Charlotte's Web disturb you as well, Harry?" Ron asked. 

"Ron would you shut up? I'm trying to have a serious discussion and you're babbling on about a children's movie!" 

"Children's movie!?" Ron exclaimed. "Harry, she ATE her husband!" 

Harry stuffed a nearby apple into Ron's mouth and continued with his story. "Anyway, Ron convinced me somehow to dress like this and we went to Ern's to spy on them." 

Sirius and I both winced. "Stupid move, boys," I said and Sirius nodded. "Always trust your women until they give you reason otherwise." 

"I'll write that down," Ron stated. He was happily eating his apple. 

"So what did you find out?" Sirius asked. 

"Well, Draco wanted to talk to them about his love life. He just recently fell in love and wanted to know how to ask the girl out," Harry explained in a bored tone. 

"Draco's capable of love?" I asked confused. This whole situation was confusing me greatly. "That's a shock! What does Lucius have to say about this?" I was ignored. 

"So why are you confused, Harry?" Sirius asked. 

"Because Draco came up with some plan that was obviously romantic and the girls were gushing and Ginny said that she wished I would do something like that." 

"Ooohhh," said Sirius knowingly. 

"You and Ginny are dating?" I asked, feeling out of the loop. 

"They were," Sirius explained. "But Ginny dumped him for stupid girly reasons and they're both on the rebound." 

"I am not rebounding!" Harry exclaimed but a look from Sirius made him hang his head and mumble incoherent things to his high heeled shoes. 

"Oh, I get it now," I stated. "So you're confused about your relationship with Ginny." 

Harry nodded and Ron got up and put a pop tart in the toaster. Sirius finished his beer and stretched again, obviously wanting to go back to bed. 

"Well, Harry," he stated, throwing his bottle away. "Let the pro give you some advice." 

"The pro?" Harry asked. 

"Sirius was a ladies man back in the day," I explained. "I think he dated every girl within a ten mile radius, including your mother." 

Sirius shot me a glare that stated, 'I will kill you' then looked back at Harry. "It was for one week and it was in the 7th grade so don't feel weird about it. I got one kiss on the cheek and that was it. We were only friends after that. Anyway, I personally think that you should play the field a bit, Harry. I know you really care about Ginny," Sirius added, raising a hand when Harry tried to protest, "but your relationship was all wrong. It started as a favor to a friend, then it nearly ruined friendships. I think it will be best if you two gave it a break for awhile and then if the feeling lingers, give it another try later and start it off right." 

"I guess that makes sense," Harry stated doubtfully. 

"Of course it does," Sirius stated. "Besides, how would you explain suddenly wanting to get back together so soon? You'd have to admit that you were spying and that would not only ruin whatever chances you have with Ginny but it might also ruin Ron's relationship with Hermione and those two are too cute together." 

Ron was looking positively embarrassed. "So you don't think I should play the field?" Ron asked. 

"From what I know, Weasley men don't play the field," Sirius stated. "They usually get it right on the first or second try." 

Ron began to choke on his pop tart. 

"Now, Sirius, don't scare the boy" I scolded, patting Ron on the back. "It's not always true. I believe your second cousin dated about ten people before she found Mr. Right." 

"Yeah," added Sirius. "And all of your brother's with the exception of Percy has had several girlfriends and none of them seem to be seriously considering marriage yet...granted Fred and George are still too young to consider marriage." 

Ron nodded but looked worried and pale. 

"Now," said Sirius, clapping his hands together, "would you two please change clothes? You're disturbing me." 

**

°°°Hermione°°°

**

"Are you sure that you're ok, Ginny?" I asked her in her bedroom after we came home from Ern's Pizza. She was reorganizing things, including moving her furniture around. 

"I'm fine, Hermione, just confused." 

"About Harry?" I asked her. 

"Yeah," she sighed, sitting down on her floor. "It just really sucks. Harry has always been like Prince Charming or something you know?" I nodded. "And our relationship turned out to not be a fairy tale." 

"No relationship is," I told her. "Do you know how often Ron and I fight?" 

Ginny nodded with a slight smirk. "The whole school knows how often you two fight, but how do I fix my problem with Harry?" 

"I say give it time," I told her. "If you two are destined to be with each other, you'll find a way back to each other." 

Ginny smiled. I was just about to leave when we heard Ron's bedroom door slam. I went to the double doors separating Ron and Ginny's rooms and knocked. Ron opened the door without looking at me and walked over to his bed. 

"What's wrong," I asked him, shutting the door though I knew Ginny would listen on the other side. 

He sighed and plopped down on his back to stare at the ceiling. 

"Sirius reckons that we'll get married." 

I laughed. "Yes, well Sirius also believed that Rachel would end up with Joey on Friends." 

Ron propped himself up on his elbows and had a hurt look on his face. "So you don't want to marry me?" he asked. 

"Ron, we're sixteen!" 

"I'm still fifteen," he mumbled. 

I sat down on his bed and hit him with a pillow. I then brought my head down to touch foreheads with him. "I love you now, I'll like you forever, and no one, not even Sirius, knows whether or not we'll get married." 

"You love me?" Ron asked shocked and he got up from the bed and tripped over his own feet. 

"Ron, don't be an idiot," Ginny yelled from the other side of the door. 

"Goodbye, Ginny," I called. Ron got to his feet and began pacing his room. 

"You love me?" he asked again more to himself than to me. I sighed and went to him. He startled when I touched his arm. 

"You don't have to say it back," I told him and with that I left. 

**End Author's Note:** Muhahaha!!! I bet you HATE how I ended that! That just means you'll have to keep reading. Anywho, you guys glad that Remus is back? I am. I started the next chapter already but it may be a day or two before I get it out because today is father's day and I have to work till close tonight. I'm really amazed at how I'm able to write and post within days. I haven't had a muse like this since when I started Anthem. I'm kind of hoping for a wave of reviews again though I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up, huh? Just know that this chapter would probably not have even been started by now if I didn't get all of those reviews. I especially like the long ones! 


	17. Paint the Silence

Hogwarts High 

**Hogwarts High**  
_By Siriusly Amused_

**Author's Greeting:** Hello everyone out there! It's 1:04 in the morning and I have been on my laptop for a VERY long time. So long in fact, that my laptop is getting hot and I can feel the heat radiating from it and it's making me hot and uncomfortable. But I have big news!!! I sat down and figured out Hogwarts High. The big ending and all. I still have little tid bits that I need to work out but the big stuff that's been confusing me are solved. Of course, I still have two problems. First of all, I still can't write this chapter! This is my FOURTH draft of it. -sighs- I'm this close to just writing, 'there is no chapter seventeen' and moving on but then you guys would be confused so I simply must write it. My second problem is the sequels...I've been thinking about what comes next lately. I think I have decided to make the bombdiggity awesome prologue of Hogwarts High II become the epilogue for this story and add a bit more to it. Presently, I'm thinking about having a very short fic (consisting of maybe 4 or 5 chapters) dedicated to their junior year. You won't want that one to be long, trust me, nothing big happens. And then have another long fic dedicated to their senior year as originally planned. But I dunno, I can't get by with just the two and have a short recap of junior year from one of the characters. It depends on how much information you guys want...how into the story you guys are. So if any of you actually read these author's notes, please tell me what you want. 3 stories with one being short, or 2 with a slight recap? 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter...Valentine's Day...When a Man Loves a (though they're not directly mentioned)...Gwyneth (just so you know, I have nothing against her, and I think she and Steven Martin make an extremely cute couple and the name Apple is growing on me)...Oasis...and I used a quote similar to one used in Family Guy (which I don't own but think is a great show) see if you guys and find it. 

Chapter Seventeen

_Paint the Silence_

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

By the beginning of February, the state of perpetual blahness had decreased slightly. I still missed Ginny and Padma still bored me to death, but it wasn't so bad. I had all of my other friends, and Ginny had passed me the ketchup the other day at lunch without glaring at me so I assumed her anger was subsiding a bit, though she was still dating that Michael boy, which angered me and frustrated Ron who had sworn to never interfere with her love life again. All in all, life was normal. 

A week before Valentines, I was sitting on the couch, channel surfing when Sirius came and plopped down next to me. We grunted greetings like guys do and continued to stare blankly at the screen. After several minutes, Sirius looked at me. He returned his gaze to the TV for several moments before quickly turning his head again to look at me, his brow knitted as he peered at my cheek. 

"What?" I asked at last, no longer able to take Sirius' stare. Sirius didn't answer, but brought a hand up to rub my cheek and chin...it tickled. 

"REMUS!" Sirius shouted, a smile crossing his face. "REMUS!" he shouted again. 

Lupin appeared, looking very groggy. "What is it, Sirius?" he asked, sleepily. 

Sirius forced me to my feet and marched me over to Remus, his hands on my shoulders. "Look at this," Sirius commanded of Lupin, rubbing my jaw. Lupin looked for a moment, then smiled. 

"Damnit, Sirius, how did we not notice until now?" he asked, also rubbing my jaw line. 

"How did Harry not notice?" Sirius asked. 

"Perpetually blah, remember?" Lupin answered. I hated it when they talked as if I wasn't there. 

"Notice what?" I asked, perturbed. 

"Harry, my boy, we are going to teach you how to shave," Remus said, strolling down the hall and taking off his shirt. Sirius followed his lead and the two went into the bathroom and started getting things ready. When I continued to stand and stare, they looked at me. 

"Well, come on, what are you waiting for?" Sirius asked. He was already applying shaving cream onto his own face. It felt odd. I had gone through all of my milestones, glumly, with the Dursleys. Potty training, going to school, growth spurts, my voice breaking, pimples (which I didn't get a lot of but Dudley did), and why I would sometimes wake up after a really good dream to a slightly wet and sticky bed. This was my first real mile stone that I'd be sharing with fatherly figures. 

"Before our beards turn gray, Harry," Sirius called. Both he and Remus were ready to shave. I smiled and went into the bathroom. 

**

°°°Hermione°°°

**

In my opinion, Valentines Day is always a disaster. When you're little, there's always at least one kid in your class that didn't get a Valentine and cries all the way home. There was always a Valentines dance in junior high, where several kids were destined to be wallflowers, and as you got older, there were always people who forget about Valentines and disappoint their significant other. Ron of course, had forgotten. Harry apparently did too seeing as he broke up with Padma first thing in the morning. I would have scolded him, but I was glad to no longer have to put up with Padma...Parvati is bad enough. Seamus also forgot, until first hour at least, when he remembered and handed Lavender a piece of gum in the middle of history. As a matter of fact, it seemed like everyone had forgotten. Except, oddly enough, the Weasley twins. 

George got down on one knee before the first bell rang and gave Katie some flowers while asking her to be his girlfriend and lunch was interrupted by Fred dancing upon the table tops and singing, 'When a Man Loves a Woman,' to Angelina. Snape tried to stop him, but Dumbledore, who had donned a white toga and carried around a bow and arrow like cupid told Snape to, 'Let young love be'. I seriously hope that Ron will someday learn a thing or two from his brothers. 

But it wasn't too bad. Ron had seemed genuinely sorry for forgetting and he did buy my lunch for me, hold my books between classes, and hug me when we had to go to different classes. It was becoming very hard to stay mad at the boy. Besides, he had his drivers test seventh hour and I figured he had enough to worry about. 

"I'm going to screw it up, I just know I am," he stated between sixth and seventh hour at our lockers. 

"No you won't, Ron, really, it's easy," I told him. Ron didn't appear comforted. The bell beeped and he slowly walked outside as if in a funeral progression. 

"He'll be fine," Seamus stated, coming up to me with the others. We watched Ron get into the student driver car before we went into the library for study hall and sat down at our normal table. We were finishing up some English homework over speeches when Fred pulled up a chair next to me and plopped down a pile of concert tickets on the table. 

"Billy's dad delivered," he said, looking at our shocked faces. 

"Um, Fred, how many people are going to this concert tonight?" I asked, eyeing the mound of tickets. 

"About half the school," Fred stated nonchalantly. 

"Does Draco know about this?" Neville asked. 

"He does now," Draco stated, coming up out of no where and pulling up a chair. 

"Aren't you supposed to be in history?" Lavender asked him. 

Draco shrugged. "Someone sneezed on me, so I went to the nurse," he explained, brandishing his complimentary lollipop at us. "Then I saw you lot in here and I decided to stop by and grace you with my presence." He looked around the table. "Where's Weasel the third?" he asked. 

"Weasel the third?" Fred questioned. 

"Yeah, it's my nickname for him." 

"What do you call me?" Fred asked. 

"Which one are you?" 

"Fred." 

"Weasel the second. Guess what George and Ginny are." 

Fred smirked and handed him two tickets. "One for you and one for your lady friend." 

"Seriously," Draco continued, taking his tickets, "where's the weasel?" 

"Taking his driver's test," Seamus answered. 

"When's his birthday?" 

"March." 

"George and I only passed our tests by one point." We all shut up and looked at Fred. He glanced back innocently. "What? We passed didn't we?" 

"Hem, hem." 

We all shuddered. 

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Malfoy, I think you two should get back to your classes and I'll see you in detention tonight." 

"Wouldn't you rather see us at a concert tonight?" Draco asked. 

Umbridge eyed him suspiciously. 

"We'll give you some concert tickets for free AND..." Draco continued, "Fred will sing 'When a Man Loves a Woman' again." Fred immediately jumped upon our table and stole Lavender's pen, taking a deep breath as he brought it to his mouth and raised his other arm." 

"WHEN A MAAAAN LOVES A WOOOMAAN!" 

Just then Ron joined us, looking very ashen faced. "I passed," he said shakily. 

"HE CAN'T KEEP HIS MIND ON NOTHING ELSE!" 

**

°°°Ron°°°

**

The concert was awesome! Fred and George let me drive Old Betsy there which was really fun because it was the first time that I drove with out Mom, Dad, or the driving instructor (I don't have my license yet so technically it was illegal and Hermione didn't approve, but hey, we got away with it). It was hell trying to find a parking spot though. I think we circled the lot six times before we found one. The people in the car next to us were already drunk and one was peeing in a nearby puddle from the rain we had gotten the night before. 

We met Draco, Noelle, Seamus, Dean, Neville and the chatter boxes up at the gate (Draco can fit a lot of people in his SUV) where we all went through metal detectors and were searched by cops. It was so much fun! Well at least us guys thought so, the girls didn't seem to enjoy it as much. 

We walked around the concessions and stuff while the opening band played and we ran into a bunch of people. I guess Fred and George were right when they said that Billy had gotten half the school tickets. There was Colin and his group of freshmen friends, all of whom were avoiding the alcohol like the plague...the back to school party where Colin jumped into the pool naked must have still been fresh in their minds. We saw Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle all of whom were glaring at us. We even saw a rocked out Dumbledore (equipped with leather jacket and jeans with holes at the knees) as he escorted Mrs. McGonagall, Mr. Flitwick, Mr. Snape, and Ms. Umbridge (who was wearing a 'Move over Gwyneth' T-shirt) to their seats. 

The concert itself was amazing of course. I even saw Mrs. McGonagall with a lighter during one of their slower songs. It ended at midnight and we all trudged out to our vehicles tired, happy, and deaf. Fred and George wouldn't let me drive due to traffic and they just didn't feel comfortable with a really tired 15-year-old driving so I sat in the very back (cargo space) of Old Betsy with Hermione. Fred and George had the front seat and were singing extremely loudly and off key. Harry and Ginny were forced to sit in the mid section and they were trying desperately to have a civil conversation. 

"So...we're having rather warm weather for this time of year." 

"Oh, yeah, it's really nice." 

After ten minutes of driving, Fred and George's singing had yet to cease and Harry and Ginny were really grasping at straws at creating a conversation: 

"You know they found an unknown moss growing on a rock in South America a couple months ago?" 

"Oh really?" 

"Yeah." 

Hermione smirked at their stupid conversations and shifted herself so that she was spread out across the back, her head resting on my shoulder near the window. I propped my knees up on the back of Harry's seat and slouched down, getting comfortable myself. Ten more minutes of driving passed and Fred and George ordered Harry and Ginny to open their windows so we didn't smell too much like smoke. They did as they were told and a rush of cold, February air blew in, causing Hermione to shiver. I wrapped my arms around her and held her closer. 

"Want my jacket?" I asked her. 

She shook her head and nuzzled it under my chin, her eyes closed. "Good night, Ron" she said sleepily. 

"Nite," I said back, casting a nervous glace to my siblings in front of me. Fred and George were now singing an Oasis song at the top of their lungs and Harry and Ginny were still trying to talk to each other ("I hear Hawaii is very nice this time of year"). Since they all seemed preoccupied with themselves, I decided to risk it. 

"Hey, Hermione?" I asked. 

"Hmm?" she mumbled, sleepily to my chest. 

"I love you." 

**

°°°Draco°°°

**

It was a hassle, taking the whole lot of kids home after the concert. They were all seriously rowdy. I started to feel like a parent. 

"Seamus, SEAMUS, hey! What did I say about shoes on the upholstery, huh?" 

"Ah, come on, Draco!" 

"Hey! Do you want to walk home? Seriously, I can pull this vehicle over right now and you can walk the rest of the way home!" 

A half an hour later the only one left was Noelle. I drove slowly to prolong our time together as we talked about anything and everything. Finally I pulled up to her house and put my SUV in park. She sat in her seat and smiled. "Well, I'll see you in school, I guess," she stated, taking her seat belt off. 

"Yeah, hey, listen," I stated in a hurry. "Would you follow me? I just want to show you something really quick," I added, taking off my seat belt and getting out of the car. She stayed in the car while I walked around the front to open the door for her. She seemed really confused. 

I took her hand and we snuck around to the back of her house. There, sitting on her porch was a small table with a big bowl of vanilla ice cream on it and white roses all around. "What's this?" she asked as we drew near the table. Her eyes fell on the note and she smirked at me as I nodded for her to read it. She did. And then she feinted. 

"Oh my God, Noelle!" her father exclaimed, coming out of the house to find his daughter passed out on the porch. 

"It's ok, sir!" I comforted as he bent down to his daughter. "Things like this happen to me all the time, she'll come around, they always do!" 

He looked up at me with a confused expression. 

"Girls feint in your presence all the time?" he asked. 

"Oh yes," I stated. "My pediatrician doesn't know why. Granted my pediatrician is a middle aged, Asian man by the name of Dr. Khai. Great guy, Dr. Khai. He's everyone's doctor until their twenty. Do you remember him? He probably remembers you!" 

Just then Noelle came around. 

"Oh, honey, are you ok?" Mr. Evans asked. 

"I think so," Noelle replied. She looked up at me and smiled. 

"Well?" I asked. Normally I wouldn't need to, but I was nervous for some reason. 

"Yes," Noelle said, smiling from ear to ear. 

"Yes, what?" inquired Mr. Evans. 

**

°°°Harry°°°

**

Laughter and catcalls greeted me when I walked into the apartment after the concert. It was nearly one and I wondered vaguely what was going on, so I followed the banter until I got into the kitchen where Sirius, Lupin, and three other guys were sitting around the table, playing poker. Beer bottles littered the room. 

"Hey," I stated wearily, going to the fridge and pulling out a soda. 

"HARRY!" Sirius exclaimed, wobbling over to me and throwing an arm around me. "Guess what!" 

"What?" I asked, testily. 

"I'M DRUNK!" 

The other men around the table laughed and one even fell off of his chair. Lupin winced, he appeared to be the only one sober and he shot me a glance as if to say sorry. I was supporting all of Sirius' weight and thought I might fall over, so I some how managed to get him to the table where he plopped down in his chair. He pulled up another chair right next to his and yanked my arm so that I sat down in it. "So how was the concert?" he asked, taking a swig of his beer. 

"Fine," I replied. I turned to Lupin who still looked greatly sorry. "How did this happen?" I asked, nodding toward Sirius, who seemed to be on the verge of passing out. 

Lupin sighed. "Well we went to the clubs you know. It's Valentines and we thought that we should jump back into the dating pool. We met some old friends from high school and they talked us into a poker night. We've been here since nine." 

"Oh, that's nice," I said, brushing a drooling Sirius off of my shoulder. Lupin sighed again. 

"Sirius really doesn't get drunk that often. Even in high school, we never got drunk because then we'd be vulnerable to pay backs for our pranks, so we always only sipped one beer to make it seem like we were drinking and getting drunk. But then, around the time you were born, Sirius had to meet up with his parents on their death beds so that he'd be left in their will. He was so miserable, sitting with them everyday, waiting for them to die, that he began drinking to ease the pain." 

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Sirius exclaimed suddenly, clapping a hand on my shoulder and bringing his head closer to mine. "For the first couple of weeks of your life, I thought you were the cat!" 

Lupin laughed. "He did! But then his parents died and he was left all of their money and he sobered up. This is the first time I saw him drunk since then." 

"What happened to his parent's money?" I asked as two of their poker buddies passed out and the third one urinated in a potted plant in the corner. 

"It's all in the bank, collecting interest for your college," Sirius explained, waving it off. 

"You don't have to pay for my college, Sirius," I stated. 

"Nonsense, I have more than enough to send you to Harvard and still have enough left over for a vacation to Hawaii. Listen, Harry...just listen one moment," Sirius slurred to my shaking head, "you are going to college and...listen, just, just listen! You are going to college and you are going to become...become...a...a gynecologist or something!" And with that, Sirius passed out on the table. 

Lupin sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "For now on, Sirius and I are looking for dates at the supermarket!" 

**End Author's Note:** I know that this chapter is short but I just got an urge to write it and this is what came out and I'm posting it now to appease you guys and so I can't change my mind, decide it sucks, and rewrite it again. Anyway, I don't know if I explained this or not but I know that their ages are off in this story and in all my stories. I know that they're all born in '80 (though not in this one since I wanted it to be modern and not taking place in the nineties) thus making Ron the oldest, followed by Harry and then Hermione. Where I'm from the cut off date for classes is in August, making those born in September the oldest of the class and those born in July the youngest. If I had kept their ages the same with Ron being the oldest, then Ron and Harry would be sophomores and Hermione would be a freshman. I personally like this way better, with Hermione the oldest, then Ron, then Harry.


	18. Obscenity

**Hogwarts High**

_By Siriusly Amused_

**Author's Note:** I'm cold. I'm hungry. And there's a little bug flying around me. But I'm writing Hogwarts High so all must be well with the world...other than Mount St. Helen's, maybe. And the fact that Rupert is STILL in the shop (he must really hate you guys) and he has all the work I've done on Hogwarts High with him, including the first three chapters of Hogwarts High II...and the plot for this story. Anywho, I've been putting off writing this chapter because I was going to have something big happen in it, but I can't remember what. All I remember is that I wanted a pep rally in this one. So now this story really doesn't have a plot again, but that's ok, because I've been rereading it and in several of my author's notes I kept babbling about 'bringing the plot' out in the next chapter and I don't think I ever really did it so...basically this story never really had a plot to begin with and you guys still love it.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter...Mount St. Helen's...Tibet...It's Raining Men...

Chapter Eighteen

_Obscenity_

**Ginny**

My last class of the day is geography. It's one of my favorites, as it is almost everyone else's seeing as the class is overcrowded and shoved into a small, yet cozy, room. For some reason the walls of this room are covered with red carpeting. No one knows why. Mr. Vector teaches this class. He's the type of teacher who really interacts with his students. Instead of telling us about the state of the world, he asks us what we would do if we were the adults and could change it. The class itself is interesting as well, but then again, other cultures has always intrigued me.

A week after Valentines, the class was watching a movie over Tibet. I was sitting in my desk, in the center of the classroom, completely at peace with myself. In front of me, Tibetan monks spun prayer wheels. Around me, my fellow classmates slept. Soft snores from the massive football player behind me floated to my ears. A half eaten chocolate bar, courtesy of George who had extra money at lunch, sat in my lap. Yes, I was happy. Or at least I was happy until I heard a grunt from somewhere to my left.

I glanced over to see who disturbed the peace of seventh hour geography and wasn't surprised to find out that it was Michael. His presence annoyed me. I had asked him out to show up Harry. I knew it, he knew it, everyone who had half a brain cell at Hogwarts High new it. I had only expected a date or two, but unfortunately, at Hogwarts High, if you go to the movies with a member of the opposite sex, you're suddenly in a serious relationship.

My relationship with Michael was slowly suffocating me. He didn't like my friends. I didn't like his friends, and his friends obviously didn't like me. Ron and the twins had stormed angrily into my room the other night and backed me into a corner as they yelled about a scrawling that had appeared on the rumor wall of the boys bathroom that stated something along the lines of that I was easy. I had defended myself vigilantly for fifteen minutes, but it wasn't until Harry casually walked in and explained that we had dated for months and he didn't get very far at all with me that my brothers' angers subsided.

Michael and I didn't talk much after that. He would order me to sit by him and his friends at lunch and then order me to take his tray up. He would copy my homework and badger me about reports. He would also occasionally push me up against a wall and kiss me roughly on the mouth, and for some reason, I've been putting up with it. I told no one about it, not even Hermione because she would tell my brothers, and if my brothers knew about Michael, the cops would find him, naked, bruised, and tied to the school's flag pole. Of course, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I shoved the rest of the chocolate bar into my mouth and decided that I didn't need Michael, or any other boy for that matter. I quickly tore a piece of paper out of my notebook and wrote, "I'm leaving you, loser," upon it before folding it up and slipping it under Michael's arm. He continued to sleep peacefully and I continued to watch the movie, more at peace with the world than I had been since before I had dumped Harry.

After ten minutes or so, Dumbledore got onto the intercom and announced a surprise pep rally for the boy's basketball team (they were going to state) taking place in the gym at that very moment.

"And for some strange reason," Dumbledore continued, "the soccer team has decided to grace us with a performance of 'It's Raining Men'. I imagine that this is the work of the Weasley twins, but how they got the rest of the team to agree to it is beyond me. I, for one, cannot wait to see Draco Malfoy dance with an umbrella. So if everyone would please come to the gym in an orderly fashion..."

My class had started filing out of the room when Dumbledore mentioned Draco dancing with an umbrella, and I rushed ahead of them so I could be well away from Michael when he read my note. I dropped my books off at my locker, found Hermione, and together, we skipped off, arm in arm to the gym.

**Draco**

I was in a plastic poncho, rain boots, and had an umbrella clutched in my hand. The whole school saw me dressed horribly, but I didn't care, mainly because the Weasel Twins had outdone us all by dressing entirely in pink. They were currently yelling at Weasel III for not doing the same. Nearly everyone was situated in the gym when we heard a very angry yell over the buzz of talking. I didn't know what it was about but I distinctly heard the words 'bitch' and 'dump'.

I turned around and saw what's-his-face yelling at Weasel IV. She was yelling back, but everyone could see that doing so was a big mistake. What's-his-face was mad and he had several of his friends behind him. It was then that he grabbed a fist full of Ginny's hair. Yes, I said Ginny. When my friends are in trouble, I use their first names.

"Aren't you guys going to do anything?" Harry asked the other three Weasels, each of their faces a bright red and their fists clamped shut at their sides.

"_We_ promised Ginny that we wouldn't interfere with her life anymore," Ron told Harry, enunciating the 'we'.

Harry gave him a sly smile before running off and tackling Michael. Michael's friends retaliated on Harry, forcing me and Dean to look at each other briefly before shrugging and jumping into the foray as well. I pulled a skinny boy who was trying to make Harry go bald to the side and began punching him.

"You. Shall. Not. Harm. Harry. Potter," I explained, punching him with each word. I heard guttural cries come forth as Seamus and Neville ran out from the bleachers, where they had been sitting, and joined us in the fight. Bright flashes shot around us as that kid who says hi to Harry a lot took some pictures for the school newspaper. I held up my battered, living punching bag up and smiled proudly as the freshman took a picture of me.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Dumbledore yelled, halting our fight. The whole school was silent for a few moments as those of us who participated in the fight separated and stood in our respective groups. Dumbledore peered down his long nose at us, making us hold our breaths while we pondered if he was about to give us all a detention. He gazed into each of our eyes before saying in a quiet voice, "I would like to see the soccer team's rendition of 'It's Raining Men' now. The rest of you may find your seats."

What's-his-face and his friends marched off angrily. He mumbled something about never wanting to talk to Ginny again, which only made her smile bigger. She turned to those of us who had fought for her and thanked us wholeheartedly. I felt proud of myself as Ginny skipped off with Hermione and Noelle and sat down with them in the front row, clutching their hands and smiling brightly as they waited for us to begin our ridiculous song and dance.

**Lucius**

Jacobs botched up yet another robbery and Tom was not pleased about it. Peter and I stood to the side as Tom continued to yell at Jacobs. I had often wondered why Tom continued to put up with Peter's presence. He had come to us fourteen years before as a client, not a partner or a comrade, but just someone who wanted our business.

He wanted to ruin his friends' lives. Two of them dead, one imprisoned, and the last to live in misery over what had happened. He didn't have much money to offer us, only his soul, which Tom gladly took. The hit was one of the most famous in our company. Four lives ruined just for the hell of it and a man servant gained in the process. But then that damn Lupin came into possession of some pictures of the crime and with the Potter boy's help, they were able to prove my vile cousin's innocence and that Peter was, in fact, still alive.

I wanted to dispose of Peter after that, but Tom loved having someone to wait on him hand and foot. Not to mention, the fear of getting caught intrigued him. So Peter stayed with us, his anger growing everyday. Sirius out of prison, Remus happy to have a friend back, Harry growing to look more and more like James everyday and even eyeing a red-headed girl. Peter was slowly going insane.

A loud bang forced me from my thoughts as Tom shot Jacobs. He replaced the gun under his desk and rubbed his temple. "Clean that up," he instructed to Peter. Peter rushed over and began to drag Jacobs body from the room. I went and sat down in front of the desk, lighting a cigar.

"I'm surrounded by idiots, Lucius," Tom stated, popping an aspirin into his mouth. "We're losing men, and the few we have left aren't anywhere close to your brilliance and yet, I can't use you for everything." He paused for a few moments and brought his hand in front of his face, much like our old high school principal used to. "How old is your son, Lucius?" he asked.

"Sixteen," I stated, a swell of pride billowing in my chest at the mention of my protégé.

Tom cursed. "Still too young."

"I was seventeen," I reasoned.

Tom gazed at me with a sly smile. "You were seventeen when you met me, but you didn't know what I did for a living until your early twenties. Teenagers are useful to have in this business but they very rarely make it to twenty alive. If your boy is to become the next you, it'll have to wait until he's grown a bit more."

"We may not have the time," I reasoned, a tone of urgency showing in my voice, which was very unlike me. Tom raised an eyebrow. "Listen, Draco's been changing over the past couple of months. He dumped Parkinson's daughter, he stopped hanging out with his old friends..."

"I was a loner too," Tom stated, not seeming perturbed by this news.

"That's the thing though," I continued. "He's not a loner; he has friends! A big group of them. He hangs around the Weasley children and he's been dating this girl who is a shy, innocent, little thing."

"I have disposed of him, sir," Peter announced, rejoining us and standing to the side like a good little servant.

I gazed at Peter, a vindictive feeling gathering in my chest. I nearly smirked as I informed that Harry Potter was my son's newest best friend. Peter grew red in the face as he ground his teeth and Tom grinned widely.

"Is he now?" Tom asked, turning in his chair to taunt Peter. "Well now, that's interesting." He paused for a minute, in deep thought. "Alright, Lucius, we'll start training your son. Under one condition: we train the Potter boy as well."

"No!" Peter and I protested at the same time, but Tom raised a hand to our protests.

"The Potter boy intrigues me. I dare say he reminds me of myself. Both orphans, both had horrible home lives, and I'm sure that under that chivalrous nature of his, there's a massive amount of pent up anger."

Peter continued to look furious but I backed down. "How do we get the Potter boy to join?"

"That will take some thought," Tom said, but it looked like a plan was already brewing in his head.

**Hermione**

Only Hogwarts High would have everyone leave their first hour classes to stand at the front of the school in the freezing cold with no coats, just to see the boys basketball team off as they go to state. Ron and I left History with the rest of the class and barged through the front doors of the school and into the cold air. As we were walking down the front steps, Ron took off the hoodie he was wearing and handed it to me without saying a word. We found a patch of ground that wasn't already over run with students and stood while we waited for the basketball players to get onto the bus. Ron was shivering slightly as the wind cut through the T-shirt that he had been wearing under his hoodie. I stood a little closer to him.

Dean, Seamus, Neville, Lavender, Parvati, and Ginny joined us. Dean and Seamus had already given their girlfriend their jackets or sweaters but poor, recently single Ginny stood shivering along with her brother. After a few moments, Neville handed her his jacket. For a moment, I wondered what Harry would do when he saw that Ginny was wearing Neville's jacket, but I was soon answered as Harry and the twins ran past our group, yelling at the top of their lungs. All three of them were shirtless and were painted in red and gold. Fred and George both had H's painted on their chests and Harry had an S. HHS. Hogwarts High School.

"Oi," Ron said beside me, "he's taking my brothers!"

I was about to tell him not to be stupid, but he had already run from the group, took off his T-shirt and jumped on Fred's back, yelling 'Go Hogwarts!'. I shook my head as Ginny rolled her eyes.

"I don't claim them," she told the rest of us.

"Huddle, huddle, we must huddle everyone!" Draco announced with a tone of urgency as he came to us, clutching Noelle's hand. Noelle was wearing his sweater and he was in a T-shirt. He drew the rest of us around him in a close knit circle and squatted down so we could block out the cold. We stood like that for awhile as the cheerleaders began to do their routines. Soon, Harry, Ron, and the twins broke through us and joined Draco in huddling. Dumbledore was passing out hot chocolate. After the bus left, the rest of us went back into the school to thaw out. As we came back into the history room, we found that Mr. Binns was still in there, reading from the book as if no one had left.

**Ginny**

Hermione, Noelle, and I were sitting in my bedroom and wearing facial masks made from avocados. I had decided to have a girl's night since it was a Friday night and the three of us didn't feel like driving several hours to go to the state game. We were having a ball until Ron barged into my room unannounced with Harry right behind him.

"Hey, do you girls want to go up to the video store to rent...OH MY GOD, WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO YOURSELVES?!"

"I've never heard of that movie before," Hermione stated calmly.

Harry squatted down and peered into the bowl of left over avocado mix. "This is edible, right?" he asked, putting his finger in it and licking it off before we gave him an answer.

"You want to put some on, Harry?" I asked him, grinning slyly. "It's about as good as Oil of Olay."

Harry froze, midway from licking another bit of avocado mix. "Wha...?" he asked, scared. Ron too looked like he was about to wet himself.

"Oh, you know," Hermione continued, catching my drift. "Keeps the wrinkles away. Tastes better than prunes too!"

"You knew it was us?" Ron asked as the three of us laughed.

"You guys didn't do anything to disguise your faces!" Hermione informed. "Anyway, I would be mad at you for spying, but you guys were too funny to get mad at."

"You looked good in that dress, Harry," I complimented. "I have a few that would look really nice on you if you ever want to borrow them."

Harry muttered some obscenities before leaving my room.

**Draco**

Standing outside in the cold had given me the flu and I spent much of the weekend in either the bathroom or in bed. Monday morning rolled around and I was still delusional with a fever so Marietta called school to let me stay home. I stayed in bed all day, falling in and out of sleep. My father came in around noon and glared at me. He left a moment later, mumbling something about a disappointment. I rolled my eyes and fell into a sedated sleep where I had a weird dream about cheese. I opened my eyes and was shocked when I saw that my mom was sitting on the edge of my bed, rubbing a wet wash cloth over my forehead.

My mother was never the 'mommy' type. She fussed over my father and shopped and that was about it. I was raised by nannies and the household staff and I was dictated by my father. Mom was always someone who just sometimes talked to me.

"What the...?" I whispered and tried to sit up.

"Shhhh..." my mother cooed, stroking my face.

I gazed in her eyes and was shocked that I found concern and love in them. It's like she finally woke up and realized she had a son. Her eyes flickered to my dirty hair (I've been too exhausted to shower) and she slowly ran her fingers through it.

"You have my hair," she whispered.

I looked in the mirror behind my bed in confusion and saw that since I had been neglecting to bleach my hair while I was sick, my black roots were showing. I turned back to her.

"You're blonde," I clarified.

She smirked at me. The smirk was oddly familiar. Someone else had that smirk, but I couldn't put my finger on who. "Draco, I think you and I both know," she got up from my bed and started walking to my door, "that I'm a black. Goodnight, sweetie."

**End Author's Note: **It feels so good to have this chapter done. I'm sorry once again for the wait. This chapter would have been up a couple weeks earlier if Rupert hadn't gone and lost everything. Then I was just so frustrated that I didn't want to write it over and just wanted to do some new stuff. But now I'm in my HH mood again.

**Siriusly Amused would like to be, well, Serious, for a moment: **Many of you have complimented that I should get this fic published. You have no idea how much hearing you guys say that means to me. I'm a freshman in college and I'm trying to figure out what I would like to do with my life, and right now, I'm seriously considering becoming a writer. I don't think I'll ever publish HH because I refuse to make money off of JK's brilliant work but it will always be up for those who love it to read it...for free! I really am sorry for having a few months between chapters sometimes, but your patience has meant the world to me. During the few months that you've been waiting for this chapter, I was writing several chapter of HH and HHII and plotting HHIII. I was doing it so I could have faster updates, but Rupert had other things in mind. Several of you have e-mailed me inquiring kindly about this fic, and because of that, I will work twice as hard to get this fic done sooner. **Thank you!** My readers give me the inspiration to go after my dreams.


	19. You Don't Know Me

**Hogwarts High**

_By Siriusly Amused_

**Author's Note: **Does anybody know how many times I've had to start this chapter over? Why is this fic suddenly so hard to write? Damn fic. Also, whoever asked me if I have read the book _You Don't Know Me_--yes, I have read that book, and Ron's locker is a tribute to that wonderful piece of literature.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter…You Don't Know Me…Ron's locker idea…Motor Trend…Kool Aid…

Chapter Nineteen

_You Don't Know Me_

**°°°Ron°°°**

Fred walked into my history class two days before my birthday. He was alone because George was at home, sick with the flu that had been going around the school (thanks to Draco). It was the first time in the nearly eighteen years of the twin's existence that one was sick without the other, and poor Fred seemed lost and confused without George at his side. He was so out of it, that Ginny had suggested that I drive to school that morning because it took Fred nearly five minutes to put the key into the ignition of Old Betsy.

Fred refused to let me drive, however, and we made it to school in one piece (though I was mentally weirded out because I had never been able to sit in the front seat on the way to school before), and now Fred was in my history class. Why? No one knew.

He came to my desk and forced me to stand up by grabbing my arm. He stared at me for a moment, pain written across his face as closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Ron," he started, "do you want to…help me with a prank?"

The class gasped (except Mr. Binns, who continued to read from the book as if nothing was going on). Fred and George had never included me in on their pranks. I took a step back in disbelief and ran into Seamus' desk in the process.

"Whoa, man, watch the crayons!" Seamus was coloring in a coloring book for some strange reason.

"You're shitting me," I stated in complete awe to Fred.

"No, I'm afraid not, little brother," he continued, jamming his hands into his pockets and sitting on top of my open Motor Trend magazine on my desk. "I can't pull pranks by myself. I don't know why; I just never could. I need someone with me, and if I squint my eyes and turn my head like this," he cocked his head to the side, "I can kind of trick my mind into thinking you're George. It's either that or be good for an entire day and what would happen to my reputation if I did that?"

"It would be ruined!" I told him.

"Exactly!" Fred stated, jumping down from my desk. "So, are you in?"

I sent a look to Hermione; she waved me on while continuing to religiously take notes. "Excellent," Fred exclaimed, seizing my books and carrying them under his arm as we headed toward the door.

**°°°Draco°°°**

I was wandering the halls aimlessly during first hour on Wednesday morning when I ran into Weasel the second and Weasel the third. "What the hell are you doing out of class, Draco?" Weasel the second asked me. Weasel the third gave his older brother an odd look.

"He always wanders the halls during class, Fred," he stated.

"Oh," Fred said, opening Ron's locker with a bang and putting books in it. "Slipped my mind," he mumbled with his head inside the locker.

"What the hell?" I asked. It wasn't like Fred to be so…glib.

Ron looked at me. "Today is the first day ever, that Fred has come to school…without George."

"Where's George?" I asked.

Fred slammed the locker shut and glared at me. "Sick with the flu," he stated.

"Oh…sorry," I apologized. Yes, the great flu of '04 has been started by me. I shall be blamed until next year when someone starts the great flu of '05.

Fred sighed. "It's alright," he said, running a hand through his hair. "It gives me some time to bond with Ronniekins here." Fred made to ruffle Ron's hair, but Ron swatted his hand away.

"Don't get all sentimental on me now, Fred," he teased. He then sent me another odd look. "Why are you in pajamas?"

I looked down at myself and, sure enough, I was in my red and blue p.j. bottoms with a white T-shirt. "Oh damn, I didn't realize I did that," I stated to them, while I continued to stare at my clothing. It looked odd with my sneakers. They both started to laugh. "Shut up," I stated, straightening up to glare at them properly. "I haven't been myself lately."

"Draco," Ron stated in all seriousness, "you haven't been yourself all year."

The three of us stared at one another in silence for awhile. "Fair enough," I stated at last. "So what are you two doing out of class this fine Wednesday?"

"We're going to put Kool Aid in the shower heads in the boy's locker room!" Fred stated giddily, shoving packets of Kool Aid into my face. "Want to help?"

"Hey what happened to brother bonding?"

"You told me not to get sentimental!"

"Well, fine, he can come, but I get to use the green Kool Aid!"

The two started down the hall toward the gym. "You coming?" asked Fred over his shoulder. I shrugged and followed. The first hour PE class was obviously in the weight room, giving us the privacy of the showers that we needed. After five minutes of working in silence, Ron asked me why I was so out of it that I was wearing pajamas.

"My mom has been talking to me," I stated, unscrewing a showerhead and pouring blue Kool Aid in it.

"So?" both Weasels asked me. They were used to their mother having conversations with them.

"Something weird is going on, that's all," I stated, moving to the next showerhead. "My mother never cared about me before, and now she does, and here's the thing…I think it's genuine."

"Whoa, God forbid a mother love her son," Ron commented sarcastically. "Anywho," Ron continued brightly, his head appearing between the barrier between my stall and his. He frowned when he saw me and disappeared, obviously looking for Fred. "Anywho, what did you get me for my birthday, Fred?"

"I let you ride in the front seat today. Happy Birthday!"

"Fredrick!"

"What?"

"It's your birthday, Ron?" I asked. Ron's head appeared around our stall again.

"No, Friday is," he stated.

I jumped down from the stool I was standing on to fill the showerheads. "Well that's cool; we should throw a party or something!"

Fred appeared out of nowhere with packets of Kool Aid clutched in both hands and a manic expression on his face. "We should! Mom and Dad are going to Vegas on Saturday, Ron. We can have it then!"

"Fredrick, do you remember the last party that we hosted? Namely the one where Draco, here, passed out on the lawn?" Ron asked, standing akimbo.

"Why do you keep calling me Fredrick?"

"Would you rather be called Freddie? Or, how about, Freddie-poo?"

"Fredrick it is then. And yes, I remember that incident, but this one will go more smoothly. Trust me," he said, bringing a hand up to stop Ron's reply, "nothing bad will happen during this one."

**°°°Billy Beerbomb°°°**

Fred smirked at me as I walked into our third hour business class. I was green and it wasn't because of the damn flu of '04 either. "You bastard," I told him as I sat down at my desk and glared. "You could have warned me not to use the showers today if you were going to put Kool Aid in the showerheads!"

"Actually, Ron did the green ones," Fred explained, taking out his homework. Business was one of the few classes that the twins took seriously.

"I don't give a shit what Ron did! I," I paused. "What was I saying again?"

"I have no clue."

I shrugged and faced forward in my desk. "Dude, my hands are green!"

"You really are a simple person."

**°°°Ginny°°°**

"Let me get this straight," I stated, sitting cross-legged on my bed as I stared at my three brothers who were situated in different parts of my room. "You guys want to throw a birthday party," I paused, looking each of them in the eye, "here." They nodded. "Have you three gone completely insane? Do you remember the punishments we got for the last one?" They nodded again. "Okay, as long as we've got that straight."

"Oh come on, Gin," Fred coaxed, coming to my bed and throwing an arm around me. "What can possibly go wrong?"

"Why does Draco Malfoy passed out on our front lawn come to mind?" I asked, shaking my head.

"Listen, Gin," George stated from the hallway (I wouldn't let him in my room with that flu of his), "Mom and Dad came home early Sunday morning last time. They're not coming home until Wednesday morning this time. If anything does go wrong, which it won't, we'll have plenty of time to clear things up."

"They have a point, Gin," Ron mentioned. He was leaning against the door frame of the double doors that separate our rooms.

They were all using my nickname, trying to butter me up. I sighed. "Well, it's not like I can stop you," I stated, gazing at my ceiling. "And it would be nice to have a party again." I winced. "We won't have to do this again next month when you two turn eighteen, right?"

"Nah, we'll do something else for our birthday," the twins stated simultaneously.

I sighed. "Fine, I'll be in charge of decorating."

**°°°Harry°°°**

"I'm the king of the world!"

Collin ran by me, stark naked and obviously drunk. He had put up a good run avoiding alcohol all year, but Ron's sixteenth birthday party was arguably the party to end all parties. Hordes of people were crammed into the living room and kitchen. A massive crowd was doing God only knows what in the yard, and many more had started bon fires on the beach. Ron seemed to be enjoying himself. He had a party hat on the side of his head. Hermione had laughed at him.

"Harry! Harry, are you watching me?" I had meandered outside and Colin was on the roof. "I'm the king of the world, Harry!"

"That's nice, Colin," I shouted up, wondering how the boy would face the school on Monday.

"That seems to be a trend with him when he gets drunk," came a voice to my right. I quickly turned and found Ginny standing next to me, gazing up at Colin.

I smiled and placed my hand over her eyes. "You're too young to see the makings of a man," I told her, keeping my hand over her eyes and holding on to my beer with the other hand.

Ginny smirked and turned toward me, removing my hand. "First of all, Collin isn't a man. And secondly, I have six brothers, all of which are quite fond of walking around naked for some reason. Probably to traumatize me."

I laughed. "My mistake." It felt great talking to Ginny like this. It was almost like we never broke up. As if the past couple of months didn't happen. She was smiling at me. A real smile that reached up to her eyes. I wanted to kiss her, but I knew I couldn't. I knew she didn't feel that way about me anymore. But the funny thing was, at that moment, her friendship was enough.

"Have you guys seen Draco? I've lost him again." The moment was shattered by Noelle joining us. Her hair had grown longer over the months and she was beginning to look like Ginny's cousin or something. It made my stomach feel odd that Draco and I apparently had the same taste in women.

"I saw him about ten minutes ago, chasing Seamus and Neville with Silly String," Ginny informed. Noelle sighed and crossed her arms.

"He goes insane when people give him Silly String. He'll be uncontrollable until the last can is empty."

"I'm sorry, Noelle," Ginny apologized, giving her friend a slight hug. "But you can hang with me and Harry. We were about to TP the tree," Ginny waved a hand at the lone tree in the Weasley yard.

"We were?" I asked.

Apparently we were. Five minutes later, I found myself throwing rolls of toilet paper up into the tree, with Ginny and Noelle squealing behind me. After my first roll was used up, I left the girls to finish the tree as I went to the hedges, overcome with giddy teen joy with the delights of toilet papering. It wasn't long before a hand reached through the hedges and pulled me to the other side. It was Draco.

"Harry, the mafia is after us," he told me in a frantic whisper.

I stared at him. "Draco, did you eat Billy Beerbomb's brownies?"

"NO! Harry, I'm dead serious here!" Draco exclaimed, still in that frantic whisper. "I was chasing Neville and Seamus with Silly String, and then I ran out, and I'm inconsolable once I run out of Silly String, so I decided to take a walk along the beach to cheer up and…Harry…the mafia was there! They mentioned you too!"

I thought Draco was either insane or stoned. "Draco, we're going down to the beach so you will see, that there are no mafia men there, waiting for us!" I started plowing my way through bushes and plants until I reached the sand of the beach and walked off in the direction of the bluffs.

"Harry! No!" Draco exclaimed, following close behind me. "Harry, we have got to leave! We should go to Sirius or something! Harry!" But it was too late. We were both blinded as someone turned on a car's headlights. After blinking several times, I saw men around me. They glared at the both of us with malice.

"Draco," I stated calmly, turning to face him, "the mafia is after us." And then I panicked and took off running back to the party.

"Harry, no, don't lead them to the party! Our friends!" Draco yelled from behind me.

"Oh, right!" I exclaimed and we both turned to our left and ran straight into the ocean. Before we even knew what was happening, we were unconscious.

**°°°Sirius°°°**

"Harry didn't come home last night."

I gazed over my morning newspaper and stared at Remus across the table. "Of course he didn't come home last night!" I exclaimed, raising my paper once more. "It was Ron's sixteenth birthday party, of course it was going to be an all-nighter!"

"I just don't know, Sirius," Remus continued. "I have a bad feeling."

"You and your feelings," I mumbled. "Harry is fine! Perhaps slightly hung over, but fine!"

Remus stood up and paced the kitchen floor. "I think we should go to the Weasley house. It's about time he come home anyway," he suggested.

I slammed my paper on the table. "But Remus, we're supposed to be the cool guardians! How lame would we be if we go to the Weasley's to take Harry home?"

Remus stared at me for a long time. "We'll bring donuts," he said at last. "Does that make you feel better?"

"Much," I stated, grabbing my coat. Fifteen minutes later, we were picking our way through the trash-filled yard belonging to the Weasleys. "Looks like it was a hell of a party," I commented, finding several cans of Silly String on the ground. Remus ignored me and entered the house. The inside was messy as well, but at least it looked like nothing was broken. The twins were already up, dressed, and cleaning up the mess in the living room.

"We brought munchies!" I shouted out giddily, scaring the twins, who jumped.

"Munchies?" came a sleepy voice from behind us. Ron appeared in the door frame, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Morning, Ron," Remus said quietly. "Is Harry still asleep?"

"Harry?" Ron asked confused.

"Didn't he stay the night here?"

"Not in my room," Ron stated, still confused. Everyone was still for a moment before all five of us rushed to Ginny's bedroom. Her room was empty and her bed was still made. "She's not here!" Ron exclaimed, turning to George. "Where's Ginny?"

George turned to Fred. "Where's Ginny?"

Fred looked confused. "How the hell should I know?"

Ron's jaw dropped and he turned a brilliant shade of purple. "YOU LOST OUR SISTER!?!" he shouted at Fred.

"Now who put me in charge of babysitting?" Fred bellowed back. "Last I've checked, George is two minutes older than me!"

"Where would they have gone?" Remus yelled, silencing the three red heads.

"I don't know; Draco's?" Ron suggested.

Remus and I exchanged the briefest of glances before dashing out of the house.

**°°°Narcissa°°°**

I stepped onto the front porch of Malfoy Manner and took a deep breath of morning air as I locked the door. Draco had attended a party the night before and, as expected, did not return home in the morning. I figured he was either passed out on a lawn or sleeping on a couch, surrounded by his new friends and girlfriend. At any rate, I intended to go fetch him and see if he wanted to get some breakfast. Perhaps his girlfriend would come along. I hadn't had a proper conversation with her and was anxious to get to know her. My plans for the perfect morning with my son were ruined, however, when a car driving erratically down the street screeched to a halt in front of our lawn.

"Is Harry here, Narcissa?" a man with black hair asked as he exited the car.

"Well, hello, Si! I should have known that only you could drive a car like a two-year-old!" I greeted my cousin as he and his friend stormed up to me.

"Answer me, Cissa!" he exclaimed, wagging a finger in my face.

"Now, now, Si, lost your little boy, have you? Good thing I never let you baby-sit Draco, then. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to pick my son up from the Weasleys and take him out to breakfast." I brushed past Sirius and headed toward my convertible.

"He's not there," Sirius stated from behind me. I stopped in my tracks and turned on my heals.

"Then he's at his girlfriend's house," I stated.

"Noelle isn't like that," Remus retorted, crossing his arms. We were all silent for a minute, until:

"Cissa, where's Lucius?"

"Get in the car," I instructed them. They didn't need to be told twice.

**°°°Draco°°°**

My head hurt. I was hungry. I was thirsty. I was in a padded room. And I was laying next to Pothead. My morning sucked!

"Where the hell are we?" Harry asked sleepily, sitting up next to me.

"A mental institution by the looks of it," I replied, glancing at the walls. There were cameras in every corner. "I told you the mafia is after us."

Potter didn't have time to reprimand me, however, because at that moment, the door swung open and two beefy-looking guys entered and forced us to our feet. They held our arms behind our backs as they marched us down a hallway and into another room, which appeared to be an office of someone important. In the office was my mother and father, Sirius Black, and, to my utter confusion, my old eighth grade teacher. I wondered vaguely if this had anything to do with the time I hotwired a car and ran it into the basketball hoop.

"Draco!" my mother exclaimed, running toward me. She took a few steps before my father grabbed her and threw her to the ground. Sirius Black stepped forward and called my father obscenities through gritted teeth.

"Let them go," came an icy voice from somewhere in the corner. Immediately Harry and I were released from the death gripes of the mafia men. I wanted to go to my mother, but everyone was staring at this man as he immerged from the darkness.

"Welcome, Harry and Draco," he stated, grinning to us slyly. The man looked very old and very sick and yet something emanated from him that froze the rest of us to our spots and kept us from attacking him. "My name is Tom Riddle."

Harry and I both snorted at the name. All four of the grown-ups sent us looks that told us to never do that again in Tom's presence. Tom didn't seem to mind though. He came very close to us and walked around us like a general inspecting the troops.

"I don't like beating around the bush, so I'll get to the point," Tom said at last, stopping in front of us. "I am the head of a very productive business."

A business? Was he going to give us part time jobs? That wasn't so bad. I'm quite good at filing.

"A business where I hire people to ruin other peoples' lives," Tom continued. Well, that wasn't as good as the business I was thinking of originally. "Unfortunately," Tom went on, "There are only a select few who are capable of this business and I'm afraid we are running low on employees. I'm also afraid that we have selected you two to start training to be a part of this business."

Harry and I looked at one another.

"No!" we said at once. Tom smiled.

"I thought you'd say that." He then turned around and ordered my dad to turn on the big screen TV. It flickered to life and in it, we saw Ginny and Noelle, sitting in a padded room much like the one we had just come from, only they were surrounded by men who looked hungry. "On my desk is a contract. You sign that contract and show up everyday for your training, and the girls go free. Narcissa goes free. Black and Lupin go free. And life goes on. I'll allow you to continue living with your guardians and attending Hogwarts High, but you may not leave town, and you may not tell anyone of this. You will be watched the entire time. My men will always be near."

"And if we don't sign it?" Harry asked.

Tom smiled at him and turned back to the TV. "You'll watch your girlfriends lose their souls. I'll kill your guardians and send a bomb to your school."

I turned toward Harry. "You just had to inspect the bluffs last night, didn't you?" Harry told me to do something to myself that made my mother gasp and we both signed the contract. A teenager's life is full of drama.

**End Author's Note: **YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -DOES HAPPY DANCE- YAY!!!!!!!!!!! I wrote this all in one sitting! Aren't you guys proud of me? -sighs with relief- Chapter Nineteen is finally done! Such a happy day in HP land. JK announced that HBP has gone to the publishers, we should know what day it's out tomorrow, and WB released two high res pics of GOF!!! Poor Ron. Those dress robes were horrible. It took a lot of guts for Rupert to get into that outfit. I hope you guys liked this chapter. I tried to keep it as light hearted as possible. For awhile, I was going to try to be serious with the end but I was like, 'Pfft, this is a comedy! Plus how ridiculous is the fact that you got mafia men in it?' Anywho, I've started drawing out the layouts of the places in this fic. So far I have the Weasley house, and a close up of just Ron and Ginny's bedrooms. I didn't attempt the twin's room yet. I just marked it as unknown territory. I'd really like to make my own website and post fics and art work and stuff like that there. If any of you have a suggestion where I can get free Internet space, I'd feel honored.


	20. Cucumber and Melon

**Hogwarts High**

_By Siriusly Amused_

**Author's Note: **-stands still as people throw rotten food at me- Yes, I know, I know, this chapter is way over due and as always, I apologize. I just got on a role with _Harry Potter was an Only Child_ and I just had to go with it. But that fic is finished now and I can assure you that it still hasn't hit me that I actually FINISHED something. Especially considering how long this story has taken me. I actually think we only have a few more chapters until _Hogwarts High _is finished, but don't worry, there will be a sequel

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the HP universe…'Sunday, Bloody, Sunday'…Crash Bash…

Chapter Twenty

_Melon and Cucumber_

**°°°Ron°°°**

Let's face it, I'm lazy. And I'm definitely not a morning person. Monday mornings are always the hardest for me and for some reason, I always have some song stuck in my head when I wake up on them. This particular morning, I woke up to 'Sunday, Bloody, Sunday' only my subconscious changed the words to, 'Monday, Bloody, Monday'. I also woke up to Ginny sitting cross-legged at the foot of my bed.

"Gin, wha?" I yawned, attempting to sit up but not managing it.

"I don't feel right," Ginny replied softly.

I knitted my brow in concern, sat up and reached out my hand to feel her forehead. Ginny gently guided my hand away.

"No, I feel fine physically. It's just," she paused and bit her lip, "it's just, what happened this weekend wasn't normal."

I nodded. It wasn't normal. Sirius and Remus had returned with Ginny and Noelle and explained that a very prodigious family had two of their teenaged sons run away and they were out looking for them the night of my party. They mistook Harry and Draco as their lost sons and brought them back. They thought Ginny and Noelle were helping the boys hide, so they took them too. When they got back to this really big building on the outskirts of Hogwarts Hills and found out that they had the wrong boys, they set them all free with deepest apologies.

"I know, Gin. But we always knew that there were some nutcases in this town. I doubt they'll bother us again. Now, what do you want for breakfast? May I suggest pop tarts?" I got out of bed, stretched and looked at Ginny. She had her knees to her chest with her arms wrapped around her legs protectively. "French toast it is, then," I said, taking her hand and leading her to the kitchen.

I began making the French toast as Ginny glumly cut up fresh fruit to go with it. It seemed like she couldn't get her mind off of what had happened. I put my spatula down and turned toward her.

"They didn't," I paused and swallowed a lump that was forming, "_do _anything to you, did they?" I asked, wishing that Mom and Dad were home and that I never let Fred, George and Draco talk me into having a party.

Ginny's eyes shot toward mine in shock. "No! I mean, not really. They were a bit harsh when they pushed us into the car and they locked us in a room for awhile at the building but they didn't do anything else." Ginny sighed and gave a slight smile. "I'm fine, Ron. I just haven't wrapped my mind around what happened yet. I just have a bad feeling."

What's with women and their bad feelings? Why do they always have them? And most importantly, what the hell am I supposed to do about them?

I sighed and did the only thing I could think of to do; I hugged her.

"Aww, sibling bonding!" George exclaimed, coming into the kitchen and throwing his arms around the two of us. He hugged for a brief moment before releasing us and slapping me upside my head. "Ron, you're burning the French toast!"

**°°°Harry°°°**

A loud alarm was threatening to pop my ear drums and I was blinded by a very bright light that flashed continually. I spun around and glared at Draco who was sitting awkwardly on a window sill and wincing slightly at his blunder. A vase that had been sitting on the table next to the window fell as Draco was climbing in. Suddenly, the noise and lights stopped and three very angry adults came in.

"You idiot boys!" snapped a dark-haired woman whom I've come to know as Draco's Aunt Bellatrix. "After two weeks of training, you should be able to climb in and out of unsecured homes without making noise!" Lucius and Peter merely shook their heads disapprovingly and muttered under their breaths as Bellatrix raged.

"I'm sorry!" Draco yelled in his aunt's face as he climbed all the way into the model home used for training.

Bellatrix slapped him. "That's not good enough!"

"Don't you dare touch my son!" Draco's mom exclaimed, joining the rest of us in the house. For some reason Tom allowed either Narcissa or Sirius to accompany us to our training sessions.

"I'll do whatever I damn well please, you little traitor!" Bellatrix snapped back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Narcissa questioned angrily.

Bellatrix came very close to Narcissa face. "We've been watching you, sister, dear! You've been meeting up with our darling cousin, Sirius! You two are friends again, aren't you?"

"That's enough, Bella," came a silky voice as Tom slowly entered the room, his eyes boring into me and Draco like a hawk eyeing a mouse.

"Tom, we should give these boys up!" Bellatrix continued, walking briskly over to Tom and placing a hand on his arm. "They're not improving at all and they're ruining us. Many of our best men are threatening to leave!"

"Let them leave," Tom replied smiling at us. "The boys are going nowhere."

"They're going home," Narcissa said, gently guiding us out of the model home. "It's five and they have a bio test they need to study for." Narcissa briskly led us out of the building and to her car. We drove in silence until she pulled up to the apartment complex. I reached for the door handle, then paused and glanced at the front seat. Draco was giving his mother a worried look and Narcissa was gripping the steering wheel tightly, her eyes lined with tears.

"Um, do you guys want to come up for dinner?" I asked awkwardly.

Narcissa forced a smile. "I wouldn't want to intrude," she said.

"Sirius usually makes more food than necessary," I told her.

She smiled again and parked the car. Remus and Sirius were in the kitchen preparing dinner when we came in.

"Cissa!" Sirius exclaimed, coming out of the kitchen and hugging his cousin. He had ketchup all down his front and he got it on Narcissa's clothes.

"Hello, Sirius," Narcissa said through gritted teeth, looking down at her now ruined shirt. Her eyes then fell upon our living room and she suddenly looked as though she had just stepped into something disgusting. Remus' head appeared from the kitchen.

"Hey, Sirius, where the hell is that thing we use to flip stuff?"

"The spatula?"

"Yeah."

"It's…" Sirius paused. "Harry, where the hell is the spatula?"

"Never mind! I found it!" Remus called from the kitchen.

Narcissa tip toed around random piles of junk that littered the living room floor and came to the dining room table where she sat down after clearing off some old newspapers. Dinner was served soon afterward and it was rather pleasant considering recent events. After dinner, Draco and I broke out my bio book and started studying at the table, vaguely aware of the adults in the adjoining kitchen.

"Si, are these last night's dishes in the sink?"

"They sure are, Cissa!"

Draco nudged me and pointed to my open bio notebook where he had scribbled a message:

_'Why don't they ever talk about what's happening to us? About the contract and our training?'_

_I picked up my pen and scribbled back:_

_'Our homes are probably bugged.'_

_Draco furrowed his brow in frustration._

_'And they're not going to the authorities because we're constantly being watched?'_

_'Bingo.'_

_"You know," Narcissa stated in a loud and clear voice as she found a dirty sock in the dish washer, "this place could use a woman's touch."_

Everyone was silent for what seemed like an eternity. Sirius and Remus were staring at Narcissa as if she had mutated right in front of them.

"But," stated Remus dubiously, "you don't cook and clean."

"I can learn," replied Narcissa with a grin.

"She is a fast learner, Remus," Sirius stated with a half smile.

The adults then turned to us with questioning glares.

"Yeah, whatever," I said. "You want to play Crash Bash?" I asked, turning toward Draco.

"Yeah, alright," Draco replied.

And that was how Narcissa and Draco moved into the already crammed apartment.

**°°°Hermione°°°**

"Did you know that Draco and his mom are living with Harry now?" Ron asked one Thursday afternoon in Study Hall.

Lavender gasped from across the table, obviously shocked that news that big hadn't gotten to her through her gossip yet. "No!" she exclaimed in a hushed whisper, leaning in across the table as if what we were talking about was scandalous. "When did this happen?"

"Earlier this week, apparently," Ron replied nonchalantly. "Draco said that his parents were having problems and were separated. I think they might get a divorce."

Lavender, Seamus, and Neville all gasped.

"Poor, Draco," Lavender sighed.

I rolled my eyes. "Lavender, five months ago, you could have cared less what happened to Draco."

"Yes, but he's different now, isn't he?" Seamus pointed out. "He's all nice and stuff."

Lavender sent me a smile. "It's because of Noelle," she squealed and I couldn't help but to return the smile.

It was now Ron's turn to roll his eyes, but he refrained from commenting. We all went back to our homework for a few minutes before Ron broke the silence again.

"Hey, are you guys coming today after school?" he asked Seamus and Neville.

"What's today after school?" Lavender asked, giving Seamus the eye seeing as he obviously hadn't told her anything.

"The annual Beach Baseball game!" Ron stated happily. "We play baseball on the beach," he added.

"Really, Ron?" Lavender asked, sarcastically.

Ron glared at her as the rest of us laughed.

"Yeah, I'm coming," Seamus stated between laughs. "Dean too, I think."

"I'll be there," Neville agreed. "Harry and I can lament over how bad we are."

"I don't think Harry's coming. He might later, but he has that new job of his so…" Ron said, trailing off at the end. "However, you two lovely ladies are invited if you'd like to come. You can join in on the game or just cheer us on. Either way, there'll be a barbeque afterwards and you know how my mom cooks. But I realize we have that huge geometry test tomorrow, so I won't be offended if you want to stay home and…"

"I'll be there," I interrupted, giving a shy smile to Ron.

Ron smiled back and blushed before returning to his homework. Seamus and Lavender snickered and Neville said something about needing a girlfriend before he got up and joined a blonde freshman with large eyes over on the library's couch.

**°°°Ginny°°°**

It was almost perfect. It was so warm outside, that we were all barefooted and in shorts. The sun was setting brightly behind the waves, illuminating the game. Bill, Charlie, Wood, Lee, Fred, George, Angelina, Katie, Alicia, Seamus, Dean, Neville, Lavender, Parvatti, Ron and Hermione were all playing. I was completely shocked when Hermione volunteered to play. She was only slightly better than Neville, but she seemed to be enjoying herself none-the-less. She laughed as Ron demonstrated how to hold a bat to her. I smiled.

"Not joining in on the game?"

I looked up to find Noelle standing next to me.

"Nah, I don't really feel much like playing today," I explained as she sat down in the sand next to me. "Besides, they would have had an odd number if I played."

We watched the game in silence for awhile. "Harry's not here," Noelle stated.

"He has that new job," I told Noelle dubiously. "Draco's not here either."

"He's been spending a lot of time with his mom. You know, the divorce and everything."

We watched the game a bit more after that, both of us feeling a bit hollow inside. Bill and Hermione were talking in the outfield and Hermione said something that made Bill smirk and throw a bit of sand at her.

"Hermione seems to be part of your family," Noelle commented with a warm smile.

I laughed. "Yeah, she and Ron are soul mates or something."

"Harry's part of your family two," Noelle continued, smirking.

I sent her a look which made her laugh. "Harry's Ron's best friend," I said.

Noelle smirked some more. "Yeah," she agreed. "He likes you too."

I playfully poked her in her side which made her emit a small, 'eep' and fall over onto the sand. We laughed for a bit before Mom came out and called us all to dinner. We rushed into the yard and assimilated ourselves around a rather large picnic table as Mom laid a vast assortment of food in front of us. Lively talk sprung up as everyone dug in and I couldn't help but feel slightly sad that neither Harry or Draco were there. Noelle seemed to be thinking about the same thing. We were both quiet during the meal, even when George managed to get mashed potatoes in his hair.

**°°°Hermione°°°**

After dinner, Bill and Charlie made a small fire on the beach for the rest of us to roast s'mores. I had only made one before Ron took my hand and led me from the fire to lay out closer to the water and stare at the stars. Fred had called out some remark about making out but Ron merely gave him a rude hand gesture and led me onward. We found a spot and Ron laid down on his back. I laid perpendicular to him by resting my head on his stomach and we just stared up at the stars for awhile.

"This is the first Beach Baseball game that Harry missed," Ron commented after awhile.

The warm wave of happiness that was washing over me evaporated. So I wasn't the only one who noticed the gaping void that Harry's absence left.

"But I'm not completely sad," Ron continued awkwardly, "because this is also the first Beach Baseball game that you came to."

I sat up in shock. Romantic sayings from Ron were few and far between so I was always caught off guard whenever he sprung one on me. He propped himself up onto his elbows as I smiled down upon him. My eyes flickered to the others by the fire for a moment before I leaned down and kissed him. Ron brought a hand up to caress my cheek and I covered his hand with my own; Harry's absence was momentarily forgotten.

"See, I told you they were going to make out!" Fred's voice called out, forcing me to break away from Ron.

"Fred, I'm going to kill you!" Ron bellowed, getting up faster than my brain could register and running back over to the fire. He tackled Fred to the ground and wrestled with him.

"BROTHER FIGHT!" Charlie exclaimed, pulling George into the foray. Bill merely looked over to me and rolled his eyes. Ginny stole Charlie's abandoned s'mores. Minutes later, Mrs. Weasley came out and broke her sons up. She scolded Ron for starting a fight, Charlie for joining in when he was clearly too old for such things, and Bill for not doing anything about it. She seemed to expect such behavior from the twins, however, so she said nothing to them.

I came over to the fire and laughed when I saw that all four brothers had melted chocolate and marsh mellow in their hair.

"What?" Ron asked when he heard my giggles.

"Nothing," I replied. The four of them had the gunk in their hair for the rest of the night.

I finally returned home around 10:30 PM. The house was dark as I made my way into my bedroom. I was going to put my pajamas on when I realized that my parents had put my mail on my bed. Out of curiosity, I flipped through the envelopes. One was from the bank and was most probably my bank statements. One was a postcard from my grandmother who was vacationing in Hawaii. The last one made my heart jump up to my throat and my stomach clench. I sat down on my bed and ran a hand through my hair. I had given up hope hearing from them, and yet here it was, almost a year since I sent out my letter. With shaking hands, I opened the envelope…

**End Author's Note:** Now, that's a cliffhanger-hides horns and pitchfork- Anywho, there's a few things I want to clear up. Firstly, Harry and Draco can't tell anyone about their 'training' so Harry told everyone that he had an after school job to explain his absences and Draco told them that his parents were separating (which they are, obviously since Narcissa decided to move out of Malfoy Manor and into Sirius' apartment) and that he needed to spend time with his mom. Also, fifty cookies go to whoever can guess the 'blonde freshman with large eyes' that Neville talked to in the library. Oh, and if you guys are wondering about my chapter title...my sister just gave me some body spray that smells like melon and cucumber. Yeah, I didn't know what to call this chapter.


	21. I Don't Proofread

**Hogwarts High**

_By Siriusly Amused_

**Author's Note:** Fast update-celebrates- I'm so happy that everyone gets fifty cookies-hands out cookies- Most of you guys guessed right. It was Luna. I'm still not sure if I'm going to really bring her into the story or not. Definitely not in this one, but possibly in the sequels. I'm just introducing her now just incase I feel like bringing her in. Anywho, I'm really happy about this chapter. Took me a vast majority of the day to write (though I did take 3 half an hour breaks). What I'm really excited about is that this is the first chapter where I have something from every period. Ginny's 1st hour algebra, the trio's 2nd hour geometry, everyone's 3rd hour PE, 4th hour English, Lunch, Harry/Ron/Twin's 5th hour PE, 6th hour Bio, and 7th hour History. I'm probably the only one happy about it but… Also, I titled this chapter 'I Don't Proofread' because I don't. At least not for this story. I don't want to keep my readers waiting any longer than they should, so I always post right after I finish. Which explains why I spelled Parvati wrong. I always have problems with that name.

**Disclaimer**-yawns- I don't own HP…

Chapter Twenty One

_I Don't Proofread_

**°°°Harry°°°**

"Hello, Mrs. Jenkins! Lovely day, isn't it?" Sirius called out at our goggling neighbor. She had reason to goggle though. Sirius and I were standing on the front lawn of our apartment complex in our swimming trunks. Sirius was currently holding the hose as I washed my hair. Draco and his mom spent so much time in the bathroom in the mornings that Sirius and I were reduced to bathing on the front lawn with the hose. I wondered if anyone would call child services.

"Alright, Harry, my turn," Sirius stated, throwing a towel at me and forcing the hose into my hands.

"Why doesn't Remus shower out here?" I asked, shivering slightly from being wet and outside on a late March morning.

"Because Remus showers at night," Sirius replied.

"Why didn't we think of that?" I asked, turning the hose off as Sirius reached for a towel.

"Because we think outside of the box!" Sirius answered, raising his arm triumphantly as he led me back inside. We were greeted into our apartment by playful laughter.

"You burned another one!" Narcissa exclaimed between giggles.

"I never said I could cook," Remus said back. He wasn't laughing but his voice was up beat. "You were the one that said you were a fast learner."

"No, that was Si," Narcissa clarified. "I just said I could learn. I didn't say how quickly I would learn."

"Yes, well, Si has some explaining to do," Remus stated, using Sirius' nickname for the first time.

"Si is right here you know," Sirius called out, coming into the kitchen with his towel slung across his shoulders. "What are you two attempting to make anyway?"

"Pancakes," Remus replied, nudging a burnt pancake onto a plate.

"Harry can make pancakes!" Sirius announced.

My back was turned. I was trying to sneak out of the kitchen before they asked me to cook, but it was too late. Sirius grabbed me by my shoulders and ushered me to the stove. I made each adult two pancakes and was going to turn the stove off and get ready for school when Draco came in and insisted I make him a pancake as well. By the time everyone was fed, we were already running late for school.

I shoved my bare feet into some sandals and grabbed my school bag as Draco rushed out of the door.

"Have a nice day at school, kids," Sirius called after our retreating backs. We took the stairs since the elevator was slow and we ran across the parking lot once we got outside. I hopped into the passenger side of Draco's SUV and he tore out of the parking lot as I fastened my seat belt.

We sped down the streets and parked hastily in two parking spots in the school parking lot. We ran across the lawn and through the doors faster than a track star. Ron was waiting by my locker when I reached it.

"Morning," I greeted between breaths as I did my combination.

"Um, Harry?" Ron asked awkwardly.

"Hmm?" I replied, taking out stuff to work on in Study Hall.

"Why are you wearing swimming trunks?" Ron continued.

I slammed my locker and looked down at myself in shock. He was right. I was still in swimming trunks and shirtless.

"New fashion trend!" Draco yelled down the hall from his locker. Ron looked at me as if I were going slowly insane.

**°°°Ginny°°°**

Math is not my best subject. I'm not bad in it, but I have to struggle more with it than I do any other subject. Luckily for me, however, math is all of my brothers' strong points. Ron had come into my room the night before to ask me if he could finish off the rest of the mint chip ice cream (my favorite, which is why he asked) and he stumbled upon me having a near nervous breakdown because I couldn't understand my algebra lesson and I had a test the next day.

So he ignored his stomach for once in his life and sat down and explained it to me.

"Math is just a bunch of rules you have to memorize, Gin," he told me as he watched me finally work out a problem correctly. "Like chess," he added. "This one can only do this and that one can only do that. Once you get the rules down, it's easy."

I snorted. Easy for him maybe. He was a freaking strategist! But his tips did help and I finished my test much earlier than anyone else.

"Done already?" McGonagall asked as I turned in my test. "Well then, would you mind running down to the office and getting me a cup of coffee?"

"No problem," I replied, trying to ignore the jealous stares my classmates were giving me. I left the classroom and roamed the halls until I came to the school's office. The office was a riot as usual. The secretaries had formed a conga line, ignoring the phones that were ringing off the hook. I smiled and made my way to the table that had the coffee on it. I was in the middle of deciding whether McGonagall would want regular or decaf when I was distracted.

"Hello, Gin."

I turned to my left and gave a slight jump. Harry was sitting in one of the chairs outside of Dumbledore's office, a pink slip grasped firmly in his hand. Now, Harry has nothing on Fred and George when it comes to getting into trouble, but he has been known to rebel at times, so seeing him outside the principal's office with a pink slip wasn't the shocking thing. What was shocking was what he was wearing. And he had no shame. He was slouched down comfortably, his ankles crossed out in front of him and his arms resting over the backs of the chairs next to him. He was smiling up at me politely and I realized that I was staring at his chest like an utter idiot.

"Harry, what the hell?" I asked, shaking my head and turning back to poor a cup of coffee.

"Draco's a bathroom hog so I showered on the lawn this morning," Harry explained nonchalantly. "Then I was running late for school and I forgot to dress myself. Umbridge spent ten minutes staring at me like a pedophile before she started yelling at me. Then she sent me here," he finished, waving a hand to indicate the office.

"And to think, here I was thinking you did it on purpose!"

I turned around and smiled when I saw George entering the office, a pink slip also in his hand.

"Fred and I did something like this when we were freshman," he informed with a smirk. "Only we did it better. Trunks, flippers, goggles and snorkels!"

"You guys are insane," Harry stated, selecting a bagel from the coffee table and taking a bite out of it.

"Damn right we are," George stated in all seriousness. "EVERYBODY CONGA!" he shouted suddenly, grabbing my hand and dragging me over to the conga line. It's very hard to dance with coffee in your hand.

**°°°Ron°°°**

Harry was half-naked and on my right. His feet were propped up on his desk and he was cleaning his glasses on his swimming trunks. Hermione was zoned out and on my left. Her hair was a frizzy mess that I hadn't seen since our childhood and her eyes were blood shot. Neither of them were taking notes, so if any of us were going to pass the next Geometry test, I'd have to be the one taking notes. So let me clarify the situation for you: Harry was flaunting himself, Hermione wasn't paying attention in class, and I was taking notes diligently. There was something terribly wrong with the world.

**°°°Draco°°°**

"Harry, have you noticed something wrong with Hermione today?" Ron asked in our 3rd hour PE class as the three of us changed into our PE clothes (Harry just changed shoes and put a shirt on).

"Nope," Harry replied. He was sitting on the bench and he had one foot up against the lockers as he tied his shoe. "I've been too busy noticing that I'm shirtless today. I mean, I forget about it and go about my business, but then I look down and, whoa, there's my navel! Mmm, warmth," he informed, wrapping his arms around himself. His upper half must have been cold because he chose to wear his long-sleeved PE shirt.

Ron, who had just finished changing into shorts and a T-shirt, stared at Harry incredulously. "What the hell is wrong with you today?" he asked. "You're acting like bleach boy over here!" Ron pointed to me.

"Hey! I do not bleach my hair!" I shot back, running my fingers through my hair nervously and gazing at my reflection in the mirror in my locker to make sure my roots weren't showing again.

Ron stared at us for a moment as I continued to check my hair and Harry continued to hug himself in an effort to stay warm. "Lunatics," he whispered before turning his back on us and heading out of the locker room.

"Do you think we've become lunatics?" I asked Harry as we headed out of the locker room and into the attendance lines.

"You have," Harry replied, "granted, I think you've always been a lunatic. Hmm, maybe there is something up with Hermione," he added, glancing over to the other side of the gym where Granger, looking horrible, was glumly talking to Ginny and Noelle.

"I wonder what's up with her?" I mentioned before Hagrid called us out to the track to train for the spring endurance run we'd be taking in a few weeks.

**°°°Hermione°°°**

I must look absolutely wretched if Ron is noticing something was wrong with me. He said very little to me all day but he continually sent me worried stares during class. At least he wasn't asking what was wrong. Ginny and Noelle had confronted me in PE but I refused to tell them. For some reason, I felt as if I had to tell Ron first, and he would be the most difficult person to tell.

Even Harry and Draco seemed to notice that something wasn't right with me, and they've been pretty much caught up in their own little worlds lately. Draco had let me drink some of his water out on the track during PE, and Harry had given me a piggy back ride back into the gym after our run was finished.

And now we were in English. Harry was leaning on the podium at the front of the class, waiting for Flickwick's ok to start his oral book report. Harry, unfortunately, leaned too far and both he and the podium fell forward. He gave a short scream and tossed his note cards up in the air. Everyone around me started laughing, but I wanted to cry.

**°°°Ginny°°°**

"Eww," Harry squealed, wiping ketchup from his chest. He was sitting next to me at the lunch table.

"Harry, why didn't you just keep your PE shirt on?" Seamus asked from across the table.

"It was all sweaty," Harry replied.

"You have other PE shirts in our locker," Ron informed, digging into his tater tots.

"Yes, but they all smell bad," Harry retorted.

"Why don't you take them home one weekend and wash them?" Lavender asked with an exasperated face.

"There's an idea," Harry remarked.

I laughed. "Come on, guys," I piped up. "Harry just wants to show the world his chest," I explained, patting Harry's chest. The whole table became silent by my action. "What?" I asked, crossing my arms and glaring at everyone's gaping mouths (some of them still had food in them).

"Ginny, switch me seats now," Ron ordered, taking his tray and standing up. I complied, though not silently.

"What's the big deal, Ron?" I asked as I sat down between Hermione and Noelle. "I used to date him, you know."

"Yes, but you're not dating him now, so you can't touch his bare chest," Ron ordered.

"So if we started dating again, it would be ok?" I asked teasingly.

The silence and gaping mouths returned, excluding Harry who was choking on the plum that he was eating. Ron started thumping him on the back.

"Harry, mate, you have got to start getting used to her saying things about you when you're eating," Ron told him as he continued to thump him on the back.

"What?" Seamus asked, confused.

Ron started telling the rest of the table about the time he and Harry dressed up as old people to spy on us and Draco at Ern's Pizza, and how I had said I wished Harry would be romantic and caused Harry to choke on some prunes. Next to me, Hermione rose and took her tray to the lunch lady before heading toward the bathroom. Everyone silently watched her go.

"Psst, Ginny, is it her time of the month or something?" Ron asked, leaning across Noelle.

"Shut up, Ron," was all that I could say.

**°°°Fred°°°**

George and I were running through the halls. We both had signs that read, 'We're skipping Spanish' on our backs and yet no teacher tried to discipline us. I wonder if they just gave up on us?

**°°°Ron°°°**

"Maybe she got an A- on a test?"

"Maybe she's sick?"

"Maybe she's pregnant?"

Everyone who was surrounding my lab table looked at me suddenly. "No," I clarified. Parvati hugged me and squealed happily for some reason as everyone resumed their guesses over Hermione's odd mood. Our fetal pigs were lying on the table in front of us. The final test on them was coming up and we were supposed to be identifying all the parts, but we've identified them all already and figuring out Hermione was much more mentally stimulating.

"Maybe her parents are getting a divorce too!" Draco piped up, raising his scalpel importantly.

"Her parents get along better than my parents," I told him which made him lower his scalpel. "Besides, you're not all depressed over your parent's divorce."

"Yes, but I hate my father," Draco stated. His eyes widened in shock. "Whoa, and to think-if I hadn't changed this past year, I would have spent a lot of years and money on a shrink to utter those words!" Parvati hugged him too.

"Don't worry, Ron" Harry stated next to me. "I'm sure you'll be the first to know what's up with her once she feels like talking."

"What makes you say that?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I don't know, I was just trying to make you feel better." Parvati hugged him.

"Parvati, stop hugging guys who aren't your boyfriend," Dean scolded angrily.

Parvati hugged him.

**°°°Harry°°°**

Mr. Binns read from the history book in his monotone voice. I believe we were supposed to be learning about the Great Depression; however, no one was paying attention. We were playing classroom volleyball which consisted of desks stacked up in the middle of the room to make the net and a beach ball.

It was game point with two minutes until the bell. My serve. Draco was on the other team. I stared at him then remembered that it was him that forced me to shower outside. I gritted my teeth and served. The ball landed between Draco and some kid I don't really know. My team won and the bell beeped. I was carried joyously out the classroom and for the first time in a month, I didn't care that I had to go to 'training' after school.

**°°°Hermione°°°**

The sun was setting and Ron and I were walking along the beach by his house again. This time it wasn't romantic. Clouds were billowing out to the west, signaling that a storm was coming. The temperature was dropping and I looked and felt a mess. I wanted nothing more than to dig a hole into the sand and bury myself in it.

"I'm ready to tell you why I've been weird today," I said at last, breaking the silence. Ron stopped walking and turned to face me. His face was worried and his hands were in his pockets.

"Ok," he said.

"Last year wasn't the best year for me," I told him. His brow furrowed in confusion. I continued. "It was my first year of high school and I was really worried about college already. Ginny and I didn't hang out very much and I pretty much just spent the year alone. I mean, I know I had you and Harry and the others, but I didn't feel like I really fit in with you guys. Everyone was changing and I just wanted to go back to when we were ten."

Ron looked as if he still didn't know what my little confession had to do with my present mood, but he remained quiet, nodding his head at intervals and I knew his brain was already strategizing how to help me get out of my rut. I took a deep breath.

"I heard about this boarding school in Colorado and I really wanted to go there. I talked it over with my parents and they eventually agreed because it's a really, really good school. So, at the end of freshman year, I wrote the school and sent in my application, but I didn't hear from them over the summer, so I went back to Hogwarts High for sophomore year and everything changed. I love my life and the people who are in it and leaving this place for whatever reason is the last thing I want to do."

Tears were welling up in my eyes, but I forced them back.

"The night of the beach baseball game, I came home and on my bed was my mail. The school wrote back to me, Ron. They're offering me a full scholarship for the next two years! I sat up all night thinking it over and in the morning, I decided that I didn't want to go anymore. I want to stay here with you, so I threw the letter in my trashcan." I sighed. "But my mom saw me."

Ron's eyes were wide and disbelieving; his mouth was opening slowly in shock.

"My parents want me to go to the school, Ron," I choked out. "They're so adamant about it that," I paused and wiped my freely falling tears off of my cheeks, "that they're moving us out to Colorado at the end of the school year."

Ron slowly turned away from me and looked out toward the ocean, the shocked expression glued upon his face. He collapsed and sat on the sand with his arms hanging limply at his sides. I knelt down beside him and tried to get a response out of him but it was as if he had shut his mind off to the world. I threw my arms around his shoulders and cried into his neck, but he didn't respond. I pulled away and saw that his mouth was closed and he was making fists into the sand.

"I'm sorry," I whispered before running off toward the Weasley house. I crawled through Ginny's opened window and fell onto the floor, tears rushing from my eyes.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked, confused. She had been listening to music and enjoying her evening, but now she came to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Hermione, what's wrong?"

**End Author's Note:** I really need to get a more comfy chair. You know, everyone is kind of out of character in this story. Ron's a bit too sweet. Harry doesn't have a saving people thing and he's a bit more goofy than he is in the books. Hermione's more laid back. Draco and his mother sure as hell aren't good in the books. Remus isn't so Sirius-like in the canon. I think I got Sirius down ok. And the twins and Dumbledore. Oh well, no one's complaining about their characterizations so…if it's not broke, don't fix it, eh?


	22. One Week

**Hogwarts High**

_By Siriusly Amused_

**Author's Note:** Ugh, I had this chapter written and was ready to post when I realized that I had the wrong angle and now I must rewrite it or else never be satisfied. -glares at muse- Will this fic ever get done?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own…HP…Rupert's hair…Dan's voice…a million dollars…

Chapter Twenty Two

_One Week_

**°°°Ron°°°**

The punching bag jerked about on its chain as I pounded it over and over again with my fists. The Weasley Anger Punching Bag was infamous by now. Dad had hung it up in the garage the moment Bill turned 13 and since then every Weasley child had come and abused the poor thing until its stuffing started showing. I highly doubted the bag would last the night with the force I was using on it, and yet my anger wasn't subsiding in the least. The punching bag, which had calmed even Fred and George on a bad day, was doing nothing for me. My arms shot forward, one after the other, again and again until the punching bag didn't even resemble a punching back anymore; half of its stuffing littered the floor.

Yelling out in frustration, I turned from the bag and punched the garage door before taking a deep, calming breath and resting my head against the door. My breathing was heavy for a few minutes, but when it started to return to normal, I winced as I felt the pangs of pain that were shooting through my arms and hands. My right hand in particular.

I brought my hand to my face and winced again when I saw blood coating my knuckles. Hermione would kill me if she knew how I was acting. The garage lit up when a flash of lightning shot through the sky. I jumped slightly, shocked that it was storming because I had been too preoccupied with my punching to pay attention to the weather.

I sighed and left the garage, running across the yard until I got to the house. I went in through the back door and left my shoes, that had gotten wet in the rain, in the laundry room. The house was dark and quiet. Obviously no one had waited up for me.

"There you are."

I was wrong. Ginny was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, eating what appeared to be a bowl of fruit.

"I was wondering when you'd come in," she stated, popping a grape into her mouth.

I hid my bleeding hand behind my back. "Yeah, well, you know me," I said in a rush, trying to get past Ginny so I could go into the bathroom and nurse my hand.

Ginny smirked. "The punching bag is dead, isn't it?"

"Um, yeah," I admitted, striding across the kitchen. To my absolute horror, Ginny hopped off of the counter and followed me. It took approximately two seconds before she saw my bleeding hand.

"Ron, what the…?" she asked, following me into the bathroom as I rummaged around for the first aid kit.

"I hit something other than the punching bag," I told her, taking the little, white box down from the closet and opening it.

Ginny stood still, her arms hanging limply at her sides. The brave façade that she had been using was slowly crumbling.

"She's really leaving us, isn't she?" she asked, her voice cracking as her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, God, don't cry, Ginny," I told her as I started cleaning my hand. "You know how I am when girls cry."

"I have to cry now," she said, falling to her knees. "We have to be happy the next time we see Hermione, so I have to cry now. You let your feelings out already on the punching bag, now let me get my feelings out!"

"Do you have to let them out on the bathroom floor?" I asked, wrapping a bandage around my hand.

Ginny suddenly stood, her brown eyes flashing with anger as she glared at me and clenched her fists. "Ronald Weasley, you are an insufferable ass!" she exclaimed in a furious whisper before turning on her heels and leaving the bathroom.

"That's more like it," I said to no one as I finished my hand and left the bathroom.

**°°°Ginny°°°**

I inhaled through my nose and brought my hands together above my head. My eyes were closed and I was trying to clear my mind. It was proving to be easier said then done. My numerous windows were opened, letting in the crisp scent of the rain and I had been doing my Saturday morning yoga for over an hour. Fresh air and yoga were supposed to be calming, but neither were helping my troubled mind at the moment as I buried my pain and frustration at Hermione's departure deep inside of me. My only solace was that I still had roughly two months with her, and I was going to make damn sure that those last two months were happy.

"Ginny, dear," my mom stated, poking her head into my room.

"I'm doing yoga, Mom," I told her, keeping my eyes closed as I felt my anger boiling up again.

"Yes, dear, I can see that, but I was just wonderinghave you seen your brothers at all today?"

"I saw Ron come in last night, but I haven't seen him since," I informed, trying to keep my concentration.

"What about the twins?" she asked.

"I haven't seen them since they dropped us off at home after school yesterday," I answered.

"Did they say anything about staying the night somewhere?"

"No, they always tell Ron to relay their whereabouts to you, not me."

"What now?" Ron asked, coming into my room from the doors separating his room from mine. His hair was a mess and he was still in his pajamas. I noticed that he opted for an overly large shirt that had sleeves that covered his bandaged hand.

"Honestly, is everyone set on ruining my concentration this morning?" I asked in an exasperated fashion, throwing my hands up and glaring from my mother to brother.

"I'm sorry, Gin," Ron stated simply. His blue eyes focused on my face and his expression somber.

I paused and looked at him. He seemed to be apologizing for a lot more than just ruining my yoga session. "You're forgiven," I told him. Our mom looked at us oddly.

"Ron, dear, did Fred or George say anything about staying over somewhere yesterday?" she asked.

"Nope," Ron said, looking confused. "I haven't seen them since they dropped us off at home yesterday. They wouldn't let me take their school bags in for some reason."

Mom furrowed her brow in confusion and left my room, muttering things under her breath. I turned to Ron.

"You should tell Mom about Hermione leaving; she'll find out anyway," I told him.

Ron narrowed his eyes at me. The moment of peace between us appeared to be gone. I had forced the painful truth that Hermione was leaving back into his mind and his Weasley anger was boiling fast.

"Why don't you tell her!" he shot back, turning to go back into his room. "Hermione's _your_ friend."

I stared at Ron's retreating back, unable to believe what had just left his mouth. Oh yes, the Weasley anger was at an all-time high. It had turned my brother from a loveable blockhead to a spiteful prick.

"You did _not _just say that!" I exclaimed, stalking after him before he had a chance to close the door and lock me out.

"I just did," he said, his face close to mine as he tried to push me out of the room. Where were Fred and George when you needed them? I was no match against Ron physically. I gave myself twenty seconds tops before Ron managed to push me out of his room.

"Take it back right now and Hermione will never know what you just said!" I threatened stubbornly.

Ron stopped trying to push me out. He took a step back and stared at me, his mouth opening and closing in uncertainty and his fists clenched. Finally, he gritted his teeth and mumbled something.

"What?" I asked.

"Hermione's more than a friend to me," he clarified, looking as if he greatly wanted to shake me. "Now, get out of my room," he stated slowly, pointing a finger at the door.

I scowled at him as I retreated back into my room. "You need to get over yourself quick on this one, Ronald Weasley," I told him angrily. "Hermione's leaving whether we like it or not and she doesn't need to put up with our angry attitudes."

I had stepped over the threshold, back into my own room. Ron closed the door behind me with a snap and a moment later a resounding 'click' was heard as he locked the door for the first time in months. "Bastard," I mumbled under my breath. A loud thump was heard. It appeared that Ron had thrown something at the door because of my comment.

**°°°Harry°°°**

"So, you're leaving?" I asked Hermione Sunday afternoon as we sat outside Ern's Pizza. She nodded sadly.

"Damn, who am I going to copy from?" Draco asked through a mouthful of pizza across the table.

I opened my mouth to scold him but Hermione snorted with laughter. "You'll manage, Draco," she told him, swirling her straw around in her soda. "You're very smart, even if you are a bit dense sometimes. And if you have trouble, Harry and Ron are both…" Hermione paused, her eyes threatening to fill up with tears at the mention of Ron's name.

"He's not taking the news very well, is he?" I asked.

Hermione nodded, biting her lip slightly.

"You can't blame him," I continued, looking down at my pizza, suddenly not feeling hungry.

"What?" Hermione and Draco asked at the same time.

I looked at them with hurt eyes. "You're leaving, Hermione, of course he's going to be messed up! I mean, I'm messed up about it and I don't think of you the way he does. Not that I don't love you," I added hastily, "I just don't love you the same way he does."

Hermione nodded and squeezed my shoulder affectionately.

"It's just, you've been with us from the start. You helped make us who we are. It's going to take us a long time to deal with the fact that you're not going to be around anymore." I sighed. "But we'll deal with it eventually."

The table was silent for a moment. Hermione was staring at me with her mouth agape and Draco looked confused for a moment before he smirked slyly at me. "Lupin's wearing off on you," he stated.

"You think?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah," Draco replied. "It's funny though, I get rid of one dad and I gain two. You know, I went on a date with Noelle the other night and Sirius had a pep talk with me beforehand. He gave me some condoms."

"Yeah, he gave me some too awhile back ago," I commented, smiling slightly at the memory.

"Ugh, I don't need to hear this," Hermione whined, wincing and covering her ears.

"Sorry, Mione," both Draco and I apologized.

Hermione smiled and lowered her hands. We were silent once more before…

"He also gave me some tips," Draco added, leaning across the table.

"He didn't give me any!" I stated in indignation.

"That's it," Hermione said, standing up and throwing her paper plate in a nearby trashcan. "Thanks for the talk you two, but I can't stand hearing this," she said, leaning down and giving us each a peck on the cheek before turning on her heal and disappearing down the sidewalk.

"Oh my God, she kissed me!" Draco exclaimed in shock. "Somewhere, somebody is losing a lot of money over some bet that they made that she'd never kiss me!"

"Who would make such a bet?"

"People who are extremely fascinated with me, of course!"

"Ah, so no one, then."

"Shove off, Potter!"

**°°°Hermione°°°**

I arrived at school early on Monday morning. I grabbed my books from my locker and some breakfast from the cafeteria before I went out to the front lawn and sat down at the normal table, the parking lot clearly visible from where I sat. I wanted to catch Ron before class started.

I ate my breakfast slowly as the school yard slowly filled up with students. Noelle joined me with her own breakfast ten minutes later. She hugged me after she sat down.

"It's not so bad," she said encouragingly.

"What's not?" I asked her.

"Moving," she replied with a shy smile. "When I moved earlier this year, I thought my life was over. As it turned out, my life actually got better."

I smiled at her but was unable to reply. She was trying to help. I admitted that there was the possibility that I was moving into something better, but it was difficult to imagine that there was anything better than what I already had. Noelle and I then started talking about random tests and papers we had due that week as others arrived. Draco and Harry came at a reasonable hour for once. Neville came shortly after the blonde and the messy-haired boys. He said a quick hello to us before walking off to sit by a blonde girl at a freshman table.

I was starting to wonder if Ron would show up to school at all when Harry broke my musing.

"Looks like Fred and George haven't been found yet."

I glanced over in the direction that Harry was looking to find Ron and Ginny stumbling off of the bus. They both looked like they were in really bad moods and seemed to be arguing. I groaned.

"Fight the good fight, Hermione," Harry said, taking a swig of his orange juice as I grabbed my books and left the table.

I crossed the lawn and approached the two red heads.

"Hi," I said softly, clutching my books to my chest.

Ginny and Ron (who had been exchanging heated words as I approached) grew silent and stared at me for a moment before Ginny walked over and gave me a quick hug.

"Dump my dumbass brother," she ordered angrily before stalking off.

Ron glared at her retreating back but didn't say anything. He shook his head and began walking up to the school's entrance.

"We should talk about it, Ron," I said, walking fast to keep up with his long strides.

"There's nothing to talk about," Ron said tersely. We had entered the school and he easily weaved his way through the sea of students, leaving me behind. I caught up with him at his locker. It was stuck again and he was yanking the latch so fiercely, I wondered if he would break it off.

"There is something to talk about," I told him.

He stopped his yanking, dropped his arm to the side and sighed deeply.

"No there isn't," he replied, almost calmly. He had seemed to regain himself a bit. He raised his fist and banged on his locker door in three strategic spots and I watched on, amazed, as it sprung open.

"We have to talk about it," I whispered as he took out his history book.

He slammed his locker shut so hard that several people turned their heads in our direction. He glared at me for a minute before taking a step closer.

"No we don't," he said before side-stepping me and entering the boy's bathroom.

**°°°Mrs. Weasley°°°**

"Are you sure you haven't heard from them at all, Charlie, dear?" I asked into the mouthpiece of the phone.

"I haven't talked to either of them since the beach baseball party last week, Mom," Charlie replied.

"What about your cell phone?" I asked. "Maybe you missed a call from them?"

"Nope," Charlie stated.

I made a pathetic whiney sound out of frustration. It was nearly 72 hours since anyone had seen or heard from Fred or George. They had disappeared before of course, but never for this long.

"I should call the cops," I stated, rubbing my left temple.

"I'd wait another day or two," Charlie suggested. "Ron said that the twins didn't let him take their school bags into the house Friday after school, right?"

"That's what he says."

"Well, that was probably because they had packed some clothes and stuff in the bags. Which means that they planned on leaving. And if most of their stuff is still at home, they plan on coming back. Let's not forget that it was their 18th birthday this weekend. They're probably in Mexico getting drunk at some bar or something," Charlie guessed.

I groaned. "God only knows what else they're doing."

Charlie chucked. "Yeah, God only knows." He seemed to be amused with all the trouble his younger brothers could get themselves into. "Listen, Mom, I have to get back to work. I'll let you know if they contact me, okay?"

"Thank you, Charlie. Take care of yourself, dear." And with that, I hung up the phone and turned around. I jumped extremely high out of shock when I found Ron sitting at the dinner table, eating lunch.

"Ronald Weasley, what on Earth are you doing home at this hour?" I asked.

"I've been home for the past hour," Ron explained. "I even said hi, but you were too worried about the twins to notice me."

"I'm sorry," I apologized, completely confused as to what had overcome my children of late.

"Hermione's in a lot of my classes," Ron explained. "We're fighting over her leaving and I got sick of it so I told the secretaries that I wasn't feeling well and they let me come home. After they had me dance the Macarena, of course."

I wanted to question him about the Macarena but decided against it.

"I'll let you stay home today, but tomorrow you're going back to school and staying there," I told him while I eyed the phone and debated about calling the police to file a missing persons report.

"What if I really am sick tomorrow?" Ron asked.

"Then you'll be sick at school," I replied. I was about to reach for the phone when the back door slammed and Ginny stormed in.

"Ginny, what…?" My children were definitely baffling me. None of my high schoolers were at the high school.

"I'm only home for lunch," Ginny snapped, glaring at Ron.

"Hogwarts High isn't an open campus," I muttered but Ginny wasn't paying attention to me.

"Go back to school and apologize to Hermione!" Ginny yelled at Ron.

"Stay out of this, Ginny!" Ron snapped, standing up and taking his plate to the kitchen sink.

"You're acting like a jerk!" Ginny continued.

"I'm emotionally distraught!"

"Who isn't these days?"

Ron paused a minute, his face blank as he tried to think. "Um, Seamus?" he asked dubiously.

The kitchen was silent for a moment before Ginny erupted into giggles. Ron soon broke into a smile too as a slight blush spread across his visage. The moment was short-lived, however, as Ginny's face soon regained its angry expression.

"Apologize to her you daft prick!" she scolded, pointing to Ron.

"Ginny!" I exclaimed in shock.

"My behavior is perfectly acceptable; I have nothing to apologize for," Ron stated angrily, side-stepping Ginny and heading down the hallway.

"Don't walk away from me! I'm not finished talking to you!" Ginny yelled and before either Ron or I could register what happened, she hurled herself down the hall and tackled Ron around his waist, bringing them both down to the floor where after a moment's pause due to shock, a wrestling match ensued.

"Ginny! Ron!" I yelled as the two rolled around on the floor and random appendages hit the walls, scoffing them up with their shoes.

"Ginevra and Ronald Weasley!" I tried again. "Stop right this instant!" I was ignored. My patience, which was already testy due to Fred and George's disappearance, was at it's wit's end. I marched up to the feuding teenagers and grabbed a hold of Ginny's collar. Ginny emitted a strangled noise as I pulled her off of her brother. Ron tried to lunge for his sister, but I prohibited him by placing my foot down on his chest, pinning him to the floor.

"Ginny, go to school," I yelled, nudging Ginny down the hall with one hand.

"Ron's staying home!" Ginny whined.

"HA!" Ron exclaimed exuberantly, pointing a finger at Ginny.

"Why you little," Ginny started and before I knew it, another fight of words (most of them I don't approve of) started up.

"THAT'S IT!" I yelled viciously. "GINNY, GO TO MY ROOM! RON, GO TO YOUR ROOM! BOTH OF YOU ARE GROUNDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!"

**°°°Ron°°°**

Ginny and I didn't talk to each other on the way to school on Tuesday morning. Hermione and I didn't talk during school on Tuesday. Ginny sat several seats in front of me on the bus on the ride home Tuesday afternoon. Mom was awaiting both of us when we got home. She had a manic grin on her face and excruciating long lists of chores for each of us to do in her hands.

Bill and Charlie came over for dinner that night. They tried to calm Mom's worrying over the twins. They didn't accomplish much.

Ginny and I had just finished cleaning up the kitchen when our two older brothers left. Ginny and I turned toward Mom with questioning looks on our faces.

"You're free for the rest of the evening," she sighed, waving us off.

The two of us retreated silently to our separate rooms. It was getting dark and I still had homework to get done. I walked over to my bed to retrieve my school bag. I had just hoisted the bag onto my shoulder to bring it to my desk when I suddenly heard rustling in the bushes under my open windows. I leaned my head out of the window, looking down.

"Boo!" Fred and George exclaimed in hyper whispers.

"AHH!" I exclaimed, dropping my school bag and taking several steps backwards in shock.

"Shut up, little bro," Fred said, climbing into my room through the window, George close behind.

There was a slight knock on the doors separating my room from Ginny's.

"Ron," Ginny asked quietly through the doors. "Did I hear the twins in your room? Are they back?"

"Yeah, come on in, Ginny," George said, he was pulling in several duffel bags through the window.

"Can I come in, Ron?" Ginny asked politely.

The twins sent me questioning stares as I walked over to the doors and unlocked them.

"You two haven't locked those doors in months," Fred commented as Ginny came in. Ginny's face lit up upon seeing the twins and she ran across the room to them and hugged them both around their middles. The impact of her force was so great that the twins had to take a step back to keep from falling. They sent me identical stares of questioning.

"She's been in a tackling mood lately," I explained. The twins looked even more confused, but decided not to say anything. I made a mental note to have a long talk with them later, filling them in on everything they missed.

Ginny released the twins, her smile suddenly gone. "Where…have…you…been?" she asked, slapping their arms with each word.

"Vegas, of course," George replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Vegas?" Ginny and I both asked, impressed.

"Wow," said Ginny, raising her eyebrows.

"Did you win anything?" I asked curiously.

The twins unzipped their duffel bags, grinning like mad men. There was a loud 'thump' as Ginny fainted.

**°°°George°°°**

Ginny was unconscious, Ron was staring with his mouth agape as if he forgot how to talk, and Mom was knocking on Ron's door, inquiring about the noise. I shot Ron a look that told him not to tell her anything as Fred and I grabbed the bags, ran into Ginny's room and hid in her closet. We listened as Ron regained himself and opened his door to let Mom in.

"Ginny, oh my!" Mom exclaimed in worry. "What happened?" she asked. I winced as I recognized the hint of anger in her voice.

"I, uh, apologized to her for my behavior and she obviously didn't expect me to do it," Ron stammered.

"Oh," Mom said. "Well, I'll get some water then."

"No, it's alright. I'll take care of her, you just go relax," Ron coaxed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, you just leave it to me."

Once we heard Ron's bedroom door shut, Fred and I left Ginny's closet and went back to our younger siblings. Ron was sprinkling some water from a water bottle onto Ginny's face.

"What was that all about?" Fred asked. "Apologize for what?"

"I'll tell you later," Ron said as Ginny's eyes shot open.

"Better?" Ron asked her.

"I think so," Ginny replied, eyeing the duffel bags in our hands. Fred and I reached into our pockets and took out wads of cash. We extended our hands with the cash to our shocked siblings.

"We have big plans for this money," I explained. "So we want to keep it a secret for as long as possible."

Ron and Ginny nodded their heads slowly.

"Now," said Fred after Ron and Ginny accepted their money. "We need a place to hide these bags for the night."

**°°°Hermione°°°**

I watched on with a worried expression as Ron was cornered between sixth and seventh period in the hallway on Wednesday afternoon. The poor boy was on his way to study hall when a mass of juniors backed him into a wall, demanding information on where Fred and George had gone for their birthday.

"I'm telling you, I don't know!" Ron exclaimed in a frustrated manner.

"They didn't tell you anything?" one very burly junior asked him.

"Not a thing. I didn't even know they were back until this morning," Ron explained. He was lying. The very tips of his ears were slightly pink, the only sign he showed that he was lying because he had gotten good at it, covering up for Fred and George over the years.

His blue eyes caught my gaze as the juniors left him, mumbling their disappointment. I smiled at him. It was the first sign of recognition since our fight on Monday. The fact that he was keeping whatever secret Fred and George had entrusted him with made me forget my anger with him.

He offered a half smile back before heading into the library and passing out on the couch.

"He's having a bad week," Seamus noted as I sat down at the usual table.

"We all are," I replied sadly.

Lavender placed a comforting hand on my forearm. "Are you sure you can't talk your parents into staying here?" she asked. "Hogwarts isn't a bad school, you know. Percy Weasley got a full scholarship to Harvard after all!"

"They already bought the house," I admitted glumly. Seamus and Lavender were silent for awhile.

"Well, life sucks then," Seamus stated, slamming his bio book shut and going over to pass out on the couch next to Ron's. Lavender and I rolled our eyes.

**°°°Ginny°°°**

Fred, George, Ron and I were all grounded for an indefinite period of time. By Thursday afternoon the house was spotless and yet Mom continued to have us clean it.

"Fred, George, you two aren't leaving your room until I can see the damn floor!" she bellowed down the hall. Ron and I exchanged scared glances in the living room which we were cleaning. It looked like Mom wouldn't be settling down anytime soon.

**°°°Fred°°°**

Friday morning was cloudy and cool. George, Ron, Ginny and I sat in the dark kitchen at the table, eating soggy cereal in silence. None of us felt much like talking. Groundings have that effect on us. Suddenly, Ron stopped his eating and lifted his head as if realization had just dawned on him.

"I'm being an ass, aren't I?" he asked Ginny.

"Just a bit," Ginny replied, keeping her eyes on her cereal.

Ron paused for a moment before he sprung up from his seat and raced out of the house.

"Where the hell is he going?" George asked, pulling the funnies from the newspaper and reading them.

**°°°Hermione°°°**

"Hermione!"

I shot around in my chair to see Ron climbing into my room through my window. I placed my hairbrush down and stared at him curiously.

"Hermione, I've been an idiot!" Ron stated, coming over to me and taking my hands into his own. "You didn't realize what you were doing when you sent that letter last year and it's your parents who are making you move, so I have no reason to be upset with you! I'm going to miss you like hell when you're away but there's phones, and e-mail, and messenger, and snail mail, and…"

He was babbling.

"And I really don't want to talk about this, but we should probably figure out our future. I mean, do we break up and see other people when you leave? Do we break up now and get used to just being friends? Oh, God, Hermione don't break up with me now!"

"Ron."

"If you break up with me now, I'll become very, very depressed and I might resort to letting Fred and George test pranks on me to take away the pain. THEY MIGHT MAKE ME JUMP OFF OF A BUILDING!"

"Ron!"

"OR PLAY CHICKEN WITH A TRAIN!"

"Ron!"

"OR MAKE ME WEAR A DRESS TO SCHOOL!"

"RON! Just shut up and kiss me already!"

"…Okay."

**End Author's Note:** Man, I'm sleepeh. I'm sorry this took over a month to get out. My usual excuses apply (school, work, homework) but also what I said up there about it nearly being done and then I got an idea and had to start over. I wanted to say a lot of stuff in here, but I'm tired, hungry, and hot. Plus I want to read a book.


	23. Skittles

**Hogwarts High**

_By Siriusly Amused_

**Author's Note:** Sorry it took so long for this to come out. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. This has nothing to do with anything but my dad sprayed our landscaping today to kill the bugs and now our house smells.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the HP universe…Doritos

Chapter Twenty Three

_Skittles_

**°°°Ginny°°°**

Ron and Hermione can be very disgusting sometimes. Ever since Ron had apologized for being a doofus and Hermione decided that they should continue dating until the fact that she's moving halfway across the country really settles into their brains, they have been completely, totally, utterly lovey dovey, kissy kissy sickening. They'd sit together in the mornings at school, cuddling and whispering God only knows what into each other's ears as they feed each other breakfast. They'd walk hand in hand to their classes and when they have to split up for a class, they'd make a big show of letting go of each other's hands. They'd kiss by their lockers, they'd kiss in the middle of the hallways, they'd kiss on the stairwells, they'd kiss on the front lawn and in the parking lot by our cars. I'm actually astounded that they haven't been kissing in class. I wouldn't put it past my brother to try, but Hermione's love of taking notes encompasses her during class and she seems to go into her own little world.

The funny thing is that neither of them has ever liked PDAs! Before this highly sickening stage they're in at the moment, the most either of them ever did on the school premises was a quick hug or innocent peck, and that was only when they thought no one was looking! I could handle that!

But since Ron's still grounded (as are the twins and I) and Hermione's time with us limited, the only place for them to snog is school. Therefore we all must put up with it.

**°°°Harry°°°**

"So, the taco salad at lunch today was really good," I stated to the two people who seemed to have fused into one. I received no indication that either of them had heard me. I tried again.

"The endurance run is next week; I'll definitely be glad to get that over with." Their eyes remained closed and their mouths open but neither had moved to recognize my existence; however, Hermione issued a soft sigh as Ron gently pressed her up against the lockers. I made a face of disgust quickly before racking my brain for a new topic.

"So, Ron, you're mom's ok with me coming over tonight to work on our Spanish speech, right?" At first I got no acknowledgment but then Ron pulled away just enough for him to say a quick, 'yeah' before continuing what looked like a much more interesting conversation with the inside of Hermione's mouth.

The face of disgust returned to me and I was done with trying to talk to either of my best friends for awhile.

"Great, well, I'll be over later then," I said. If either of them heard me, they didn't show it. They looked like they were about ready to go find the janitor's closet and skip out on PE. "Well…I'll just…go over here now, shall I?" I stated, pointing to the river of students passing us in the hallway.

"Bye, Harry," Hermione said softly as I looked for a place to merge into the traffic.

"Yeah, bye," I stated back tersely, jumping in front of a freshman and walking briskly in the gym's general direction.

"They make me want to vomit," came a female voice to my left. I looked over and was pleasantly shocked to see a fuming Ginny, her face matching the color of her hair. I smiled.

"Tell me about it," I agreed, casting an anxious look over my shoulder to see that my two best friends were still preoccupied. "I really don't want to find out if they decide to show up to PE or not."

"Okay," Ginny said quickly, taking a firm grip on my arm and leading me away from the gym doors.

"Er…Ginny," I stated dubiously as I watched the gym drift farther and farther away from me. "I wasn't being serious. Ginny, where are you taking me?" She had pulled me through a door that I hadn't known existed and was now leading me up a flight of stairs.

"Fred and George took me up here once," Ginny said.

"Up where?" I asked as we came to another door and Ginny pushed it open. I was blinded by light, and a cool breeze ruffled my bangs as we stepped out onto the school's roof. Ginny was already out ahead of me, her arms spread and eyes closed as if to say that she welcomed the feeling of being free. She turned back to me and opened her eyes, smiling happily.

"If we stay in the middle and keep an eye on the time, no one will know we're up here," she said, taking her schoolbag off of her shoulder and plopping it down unceremoniously. I nervously played with my schoolbag's straps.

"But Ginny, don't you think we should go to class? I mean…training for the endurance run, and…"

"You've ran it before," Ginny stated, sitting down and patting the place next to her.

"You haven't," I tried to reason.

"Are you saying I'm out of shape?" Ginny accused.

"No, ma'am," I said quickly, sitting down on the school's roof. Ginny smirked at me. We were both silent for a few minutes as we listened to the late bell ring and the birds chirp. After awhile Ginny opened the front pouch on her schoolbag and took out a plastic bag full of Doritos.

"Want one?" she asked, holding the bag toward me. I hesitantly took one while eyeing her curiously.

"Let me guess, you have a weird fixation with Doritos?" I asked her.

"Like Ron and pop tarts!" she replied giddily.

"OH, GOD, I NEED AIR!"

Ginny and I both jumped when a strangely familiar, yet slightly panicked, male voice sounded. We looked over our shoulders to find Fred stumbling out of the door with George close behind.

"Now, Fred, breathe," George instructed as Fred wobbled across the roof, his hands grabbing at his red hair.

"That was a sight I never want to see again!" Fred yelled.

"It wasn't that bad!" George reasoned. "It could have been worse. Much worse. Like no clothes worse."

"GAAAHHH!"

"What happened?" Ginny asked curiously.

Both twins jumped as they seemed to notice us for the first time.

"NOT YOU TOO!" Fred bellowed, pulling at his hair.

Ginny slowly set her bag of Doritos down. "You two walked in on Ron and Hermione, didn't you?"

"WAAAAHHHHHAAAHH!" Fred cried, plopping down on the ground. George sat down as well, only he did it in a slightly calmer manner.

"We needed a mop for a prank and we walked into the janitor's closet without thinking," he explained.

"GAH!" Fred, Ginny and I all exclaimed.

"They were fully clothed!" George tried to reason but the other two red-heads and I were continuing to make faces. "Besides, they seemed genuinely embarrassed over it. Can't really blame them what with the scene this guy made," he added, jabbing a thumb at Fred. "Anyway, I don't think their PDAs will be so…graphic…anymore."

"Well that's good," Ginny stated. She picked up her bag of Doritos and handed it to Fred. "Want one?"

**°°°Draco°°°**

Potter and I are still pathetic at this training business. We can't sneak into homes. Even the homes that don't have security alarms. We're crap at shooting guns. They started us out on pellet guns. I can't hit any target and Potter can only hit Peter. The plump man has bruises the size of pancakes. When Tom asks us to devise devious plans on ways to ruin other peoples' lives, Potter and I can only come up with 'Sic Fred and George on them' and 'Spoon feed them the school's goulash'. Yes, we're hopeless. Tom's not giving up though. Even with so many of his men leaving, he continues to insist we're trained.

Father, Bellatrix, and Peter are getting desperate. They've taken to smacking Potter and I around a bit when we mess up (which is often). Neither of us have bruises to show for it…yet.

**°°°Hermione°°°**

I lowered my head slightly so that my long hair would fall over my blushing cheeks. The whispering and pointing in the hallways were too much for me to stand. I don't know what had come over me the past couple of days, acting the way I did with Ron in school, but my exploits were apparently highly amusing to the rest of the school. Ron, too, has been walking around in a perpetual state of redness.

After Fred and George had found us in the janitor's closet and Fred had gone off in what seemed to be a near panic attack, Ron and I became very embarrassed. Our PDAs stopped. As a matter of fact, it all stopped. We couldn't look each other in the eye. Conversation between us was awkward. Even after his grounding was up, we spent little time together. We no longer hung out outside of school, unless we were in a big group. Last Friday, we went to see a movie with Harry, Ginny, Draco, Noelle, and Neville. Ron and I didn't sit by each other.

**°°°Ron°°°**

The end of April brought the end of mine and Hermione's coupledom. We don't know what happened because we both felt strongly for one another. I actually winced when she called it off. I felt like I was going to explode. My heart was pounding, but I agreed with her. I guess we just accepted the inevitable.

Hermione said something about us needing to learn how to be just friends before she leaves. She said it would make her departure easier. I just nodded and drew random shapes in the sand (we were at the beach once again). We spent the next three hours in silence as we watched the waves crash against the land.

**°°°Harry°°°**

"Potter, where's my biology notebook?"

I looked up from my own biology notebook and cocked an eyebrow at Draco. He was standing in the middle of our room, which, over the past weeks of his living here, had manifested into a sea of decay. He had spent the past half an hour searching for his missing biology notebook. He looked under the mounds of dirty clothes, his sleeping bag, and even under our unused hamper.

"I haven't seen it, Draco," I mumbled monotonously. "If I had seen it, I would have told you where it is by now. Your making such a racket that I'm finding it hard to study."

"Well, then study out of your text book for a bit while I look over your notes," Draco ordered, sitting down, cross legged on his sleeping bag on the floor as he pulled a bag of chips closer to himself.

I sighed and threw my notebook at him, much to his displeasure. The minutes ticked on as we studied; the only sound was the occasional 'crunch' of a chip. After what seemed like an eternity, Draco threw my notebook back at me. I swore at him and hurled my text book. I missed my target, as usual.

Glancing down at my opened notebook, I noticed that Draco had scrawled a note in the margins: _I hate that place, Potter._

Grabbing a pen, I wrote back: _And I just love it to pieces._

Draco looked confused when he read my message. He scribbled something quickly and tossed the notebook back.

'_You're insane.'_

'_No, I'm sarcastic, you dumbass.'_

'_Oh.'_

'_I hate it too.'_

Draco sighed and paused before writing back. I had actually thought that he had gone back to studying when the notebook collided with the side of my head. I swore under my breath as I read Draco's lengthy message:

'_I can't go back there. To that place. I hate the people there. I hate what they're forcing us to do. And I hate the building.'_

I snorted.

'_The building?' _I wrote back.

'_Yes, it just looks evil. It's all tall and menacing.'_

'_On a bad part of town too,' _I agreed. '_But there's something that I hate more than everything else.'_

'_What's that?_'

'_Lying to everyone._'

**°°°Ginny°°°**

Ron wasn't a mess after the breakup. Or at least he wasn't yet. If I know my brother, which I do, he'll have a major breakdown as soon as Hermione leaves. The rest of the school, however, was having their breakdown the day after the breakup. Without knowing it, Ron and Hermione had become _the_ couple of the school. Even more so than Seamus and Lavender even though those two have been dating longer than my brother and best friend.

By May 1st, nearly the entire student body badgered those close to Ron and Hermione to try to set them up again. Neville's taken to hiding in lockers to avoid the mob of students, actually. Harry confessed to me the other day in PE that he's about ready to explode and that he nearly lost it in front of some seniors who were hounding him for every detail about Ron and Hermione's relationship.

The badgering cumulated when a timid freshman girl asked Fred at his locker if he would find a way to lock the duo in the janitor's closet. This suggestion brought back horrible memories for my older brother, and he proceeded by running down the hallway, screaming in fright.

It's May 2nd and Ron and Hermione are talking normally--as friends.

**°°°Narcissa°°°**

Draco managed to set off the model house alarm again. I sighed as the sirens blared and the lights flashed around us. Lucius, who had just signed the divorce papers that afternoon, stormed into the room in a fit of rage.

"What are you, an idiot?" the older man yelled at my son. Draco glared at him and turned away without answering which only angered Lucius more. The blonde man whom I used to love pulled out his gun and aimed it at our sixteen-year-old.

I opened my mouth to scream, but found that my throat wasn't working properly. Luckily, Peter's throat was fine.

"Tom will be angry if you do that," the plump man squeaked.

Draco turned and saw that his father was holding him at gunpoint. My son's gray eyes widened in horror for a moment, before his trademark smirk appeared on his face.

"You wouldn't," Draco said softly.

My eyes darted between Draco and Lucius. I was vaguely aware that Harry was standing next to me, watch the scene as well. Lucius mimicked Draco's smirk perfectly and slowly moved his arm until the gun was pointing directly at Peter. The scream barely left my mouth before it was drowned out by the blast from the gun. Peter fell to the floor and laid motionless as a pool of blood spread from his form. The boys and I stared in a shocked silence that was broken moments later by Harry.

"I was supposed to kill him!" the boy yelled out, flailing his arms angrily.

Lucius then directed the gun at the messy-haired boy beside me. He pulled the trigger and everyone screamed, but we only heard a soft click. The gun was empty. Lucius lowered his arm, smirking. He turned on his heel and left the room, his footsteps echoing in the frightened quiet of the room.

**°°°Harry°°°**

I awoke the morning after the scary gun pointing incident to a slightly chilly room, which really wasn't out of the ordinary seeing as Draco likes to open the window at night. After pressing the snooze button on my alarm clock a few times, I sat up, hanging my legs over the side of the bed. After scratching my stomach and yawning, I hopped out of bed and landed on…carpet. My eyes widened in shock. Normally, I land on Draco and wake him up where he will then curse me into oblivion. I took in my surroundings and realized that the sleeping bag and the boy who normally sleeps in it were gone. Dirty clothes were gone. My room was back to normal. I left it and stepped into the hallway to find Sirius staring at the empty bathroom in wonder.

It didn't hit me until I was at school. Sitting at the usual table, waiting for the bell to ring. Ron, who was having a pleasant conversation with Hermione when I arrived at the table, turned toward me and furrowed his brow.

"Where's Draco?" he asked inquisitively.

My mouth hung open slightly as my eyes darted from friend to friend, all of whom were staring at me with the same inquisitive look as Draco.

"He's gone," I replied.

**End Author's Note:** This chapter really isn't that great. Not much on the funny stuff anyway. Sadly, however, this chapter is needed for the story to go on. Just so you guys know…Draco isn't dead, and Narcissa is gone too. When I started writing this chapter, I had things planned a bit differently. For some reason Lucius was in Sirius' living room, but I don't remember why. And I was going to elaborate on Harry and Ron's Spanish project thinger. Oh well. Once again, I'm sorry for the long wait. To make up for it, here's some random facts:

**Ron's locker combination is 26, 0, 42 which is the same combo my locker in high school had. I mentioned this bit of information in one of my first drafts of HH.**

**Ron and Ginny randomly switch bedrooms. There's no reason for it; my mind just switches them from time to time. Ron once even switched with Fred and George (remember when Harry knocked on Forge's window, thinking it was Ron's?). The switch between Ron and the twins didn't last long because Ron thought the twin's room smelled.**

**Hogwarts Hills's grade school and junior high school are in the same building. The grade school is on one side and the junior high on the other. This school is nestled in the center of town whereas Hogwarts High is on the outskirts of town.**

**Dudley attends a prestigious boarding school that's located about 20 miles away from Hogwarts Hills. He went to the same grade school as Harry and the others, but he left for junior high and high school.**

**Thursdays are always chicken nugget day in the cafeteria. The gang had chicken nuggets on 'busy Thursday' when Fred and George did all the pranks.**

**Hogwarts High has a pond off to its side that bio students do experiments at and art students sometimes paint. (Sorry, no lake with giant squid.)**

**When Draco still lived in Malfoy Manor, he rarely went anywhere other than his bedroom, the kitchen, the game room, and the gym.**

**Hermione lives on the same street as Lavender. Parvati and Seamus live on the next street. Dean lives a block away, and Neville lives on the street next to the one that the Dursleys (and for a time, Harry) live on. Malfoy manor was on the outskirts of town and was one of five manors that Hogwarts Hills has (one of the other manors belongs to the Beerbombs). Of course, Colin lives on the same street as the Dursleys.**

**Harry has his locker set (by sticking a wad of paper in the latch so it can't lock). He doesn't remember his combination. It's 8 52 33 if any of you are interested.**

**Fred, George, and Ron share clothes which are store bought and fashionable enough, but they don't have many clothes. Ginny has her own style which is unique from all the other girls at school. It's difficult to explain it.**

**The twins stuff all of their books in George's locker (combination 13 25 42) and all of their pranking stuff in Fred's locker (combination 15 17 40) which is right next to it.**

**The first floor of Hogwarts High contains the office, the gym, the pool, the cafeteria, the nurses office, and all the lockers. Hogwarts has 3 floors total. All the classrooms are on the 2nd and 3rd floors.**

**Hogwarts High doesn't have elevators, but Fred and George make approximately $50 every year by selling new freshman elevator passes.**


	24. We All Fall Down

**Hogwarts High**

_By Siriusly Amused_

**Author's Note:** O.O This story is actually very nearly finished. I don't know exactly how many more chapters are left, but you can probably count them on one hand. I decided to answer some questions in this AN so I shall.

1. _Why was Harry supposed to kill Peter? _He wasn't technically supposed to. The whole, "I was supposed to kill him!" was a pathetic attempt at humor. It's the whole 'avenge the parents' thing, you know? It's not meant to be taken seriously. Mainly because I don't want to make Harry a killer in this story.

2. _Do you live in Southern California?_ I don't, actually. I live in the mid-west. I spent a good part of my teen years wanting to live in Southern California, though. Even though I stated that they live in Southern Cali and gave them a beach and such, I've been modeling their weather after the weather we get here. Hence the snow. I was wondering how long it would take for people to point out that Southern Cali doesn't typically get snow.

3. _Why did you call the chapter 'Skittles'?_ Because I wanted some Skittles at the time.

4. _Why didn't Harry and Draco get really good at killing people and kill Lucius and Tom? _Because I wouldn't have a story if they did that. Plus, I think it takes a great level of evilness to kill people and Draco and Harry (in this fic at least) don't have it.

5. _Are Harry and Ginny going to get together? _-smirks-

6. _What happened to Draco and Narcissa? _They bolted. Simple as that. After Lucius tried to kill Draco, they got scared and left. And the business with Tom shouldn't be too confusing. It's just a bunch of thieves/killers working together as one. They're stationed in Hogwarts Hills, but they do most of their stealing/killing in LA where they have less of a chance of getting caught. The only big thing they did in Hogwarts Hills was kill James and Lily and frame Sirius for it. That was back in its glory days. The business has been going down. People were getting sloppy and getting arrested. So Tom needed some new blood and because he's old and senile, he chose Draco and Harry.

7. _Do you have a live journal? _I do. It's siriuslyamused. I have it linked on my bio. For the website thinger. I humbly request that everyone check it out whenever there's long periods between posts. That way you'll all know what's been happening that's been keeping me from updating. Feel free to leave comments too. Even if they're, "Why the hell aren't you updating?"

**Disclaimer:** I don't own HP…live journal…Julius Caesar…

Chapter Twenty Four

_We All Fall Down_

**°°°Seamus°°°**

I was trying to pay attention in English class one Monday in early May. No, I really was. Mr. Flitwick was going over what will most likely make an appearance on our _Julius Caesar _test and, seeing as I had slept through the last Act, I was desperately trying to pay attention. It was hard to do though. See, I sit in the back of that classroom and in front of me are some of my friends. And without knowing it, they were distracting me.

In the first row sat Ron and Hermione, side by side as always. Hermione was taking notes and Ron was slouched down in his seat and absentmindedly chewing on his pen, just as they usually do. Those who know them, however, could see that neither were their usual selves. Hermione's note-taking was lackluster, and Ron's eyes randomly roamed over to his ex-girlfriend, staring at her sadly before returning to Mr. Flitwick at the front of the class.

In the second row was Harry and an empty desk where Draco had once sat. Occasionally, Harry would pick up his pen and scribble down a note on _Julius Caesar_, but for the most part, he merely stared blankly at the board. Lavender had pointed out to me the other day that Harry hasn't been looking well. His skin lacks color, there are circles under his eyes, and his hair is messier than usual--if that's even possible. He seems tired and worried.

The empty desk next to Harry only reminds the rest of us of the gaping void that Draco had left us with. No one knows where the narcissistic blonde bombshell went. Not even Harry. It appears that Draco and his mother just packed their things and left one night. I guess the divorce was harder on them than we thought.

Next to me is Noelle. She's not taking notes like she normally does. Not that she needs it. I have a sinking suspicion that she was a bit of a Hermione back at her old school. Her knowledge about books seems to have no boundaries. Anyway, she's not taking notes. She doesn't appear to be paying attention at all. She seems to be pissed off, actually. Her arms are crossed over her chest and her eyes are narrowed, staring at the empty space in front of her where Draco should be sitting.

Sitting on the other side of me is Lavender. She seems to be the only one who's normal. She's also relying on me to take notes today seeing as she currently finds painting her nails to be a more pressing matter. The acrylic smell of the polish wasn't helping me with my concentration. As a matter of fact, it was giving me a headache.

Throwing my pen down dramatically, I stood from my seat, grabbed Lavender's bottle of nail polish and made my way to the nearest window, retching it open and hurling the small bottle through it. I closed the window in a flourish and marched back to my desk feeling quite proud of myself. Lavender stared at me incredulously. Half the class began to applaud. Ron turned around in his seat and gave me a half smile, his pen still between his teeth.

It was then that Ron seemed to notice Harry's stressed state. The red head's eyes showed worry as he stared at his best friend. He chewed on his pen thoughtfully for a moment before turning back to face the front.

I picked my pen back up and began taking notes as fast as Flitwick could spew them. Several minutes later, there was a new disturbance:

"You threw my nail polish out the window!" Lavender shrieked loudly. She apparently had spent a good amount of time trying to get her brain to register what had happened.

"Yes. Yes, I did," I replied, continuing to write.

Lavender emitted a frustrated sound as she crossed her arms and slouched down in her seat. "I'm so mad, I could spit!" she announced to everyone. Harry, who sat in front of my charming girlfriend, turned in his seat and sent her a scared look before moving himself (along with his desk and chair) closer to Ron. His action caused even Lavender to smile and she leaned on her desk and reached to ruffle Harry's hair playfully.

It was then that I noticed that Mr. Flitwick, in an attempt to get the class's attention, was dancing an odd sort of jig in the front of the classroom. I absentmindedly wondered if that jig would be on the test.

**°°°Ron°°°**

Harry left to go to the bathroom in the middle of Spanish. A minute later, I had Fred and George create a spectacular diversion which consisted of sparklers while I snuck out to follow Harry. He was washing his hands by the time I got to the bathroom. We nodded our hellos as I sat on the countertop between two sinks.

"What's up?" I asked Harry as he turned the faucet off and walked to the hand dryer.

"Nothing," Harry replied. When I realized he wasn't going to say anything else, I tried another approach.

"You look tired." It wasn't the most brilliant thing to say, but it was true.

"Draco snores at night."

"Draco has been gone for days, man." I thought I had Harry in a corner with that. I thought he would come out and tell me what's been bothering him; however, he merely shrugged. He then made the mistake of looking me in the eye. It was only for a brief moment, but that moment betrayed him. I realized that something big was going on in his life. Something that he has been hiding for awhile and that he desperately wanted to tell me, but couldn't.

"I don't feel well," Harry said, hastily breaking eye contact with me to stare at the wall.

"I'll take you to the nurse," I replied, hopping off of the counter and following Harry out of the bathroom. We walked in silence until we hit the staircase. I wanted to figure something out.

"Why don't you spend the weekend at my house?" I asked. "It's been ages since you spent a few days straight with us. And we haven't spent much time together lately. We can surf during the day and shoot off fireworks with Fred and George at night."

"I work all this weekend," Harry replied at once.

"You worked all last weekend. And the weekend before it. And nearly everyday after school," I said. I continued to walk down the stairs nonchalantly, my hands in my pockets, but my face was screwed up in a thoughtful manner.

Harry stopped in front of me and turned around quickly. His face seemed torn between anger, frustration, and sadness. "Yeah, I know!" he exclaimed fiercely, his eyes two sharp slits, glaring at me. We stared at each other for a long time. Harry was breathing deeply, his mouth opening and closing as if he was about to tell me everything.

And then the bell beeped and we were swept up in a sea of students. Harry gave me one last, sad look before turning and continuing his descent down the stairs. I stayed rooted to the spot, my head turning over his expression again and again, trying desperately to figure him out.

I felt a hand on my shoulder as the mass of students around me thinned. Turning my head, I found Ginny standing on the step above mine. Her eyes were kind and understanding, as if she somehow knew what had just transpired. She smiled mischievously and poked me playfully in the back.

"Move it," she ordered.

"Ginny, I think something's up with Harry."

"Well of course something's up with Harry!" Ginny replied with a slight laugh. "I fully intend on figuring out what's up with him, but right now I have more pressing matters at hand."

"Like what?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Like study hall. Move your ass, Ronald!"

**°°°Harry°°°**

My brain was reeling after my conversation with Ron. I wanted so badly for him to know. I guess I thought that he could some how stop Tom. I also realized how ridiculous that was. Ron was a sixteen-year-old boy, no more powerful than me or Draco. If Ron found out about Tom and the 'business', he would probably end up dead. It frustrated me to know that my friends couldn't help me. It frustrated me so much so that I ended up walking out of the school. I hadn't taken more than two steps out the front doors when I nearly tripped over Mouse.

"Sorry, Harry," the freshman apologized at one. He appeared to be hiding behind a bush.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Bins is subbing for the study hall today," Mouse explained happily. "Since he never pays any attention to us, Fred and George decided we should all play hide and seek."

That only frustrated me more. Not only could no one help me, they were all going about their happy lives, skipping out of study hall to play hide and seek.

"Who's bike is that?" I asked suddenly, pointing to a bike at the school's bike rack.

Mouse looked over his shoulder dubiously before turning back to face me, looking a little confused. "Mine, actually," he said.

"I'm going to borrow it for awhile," I told him, marching over to the bike rack.

"Okay, Harry," Mouse replied happily, making himself comfortable in the bush. "Have fun!"

I sped off on his bike, flying through the sunny streets of Hogwarts Hills, ignoring the 'Why aren't you in school's that came from the adults that I past. When the tall building came into view, I pedaled faster, the wind whipping my hair back. I let the bike lay on the ground in the front of the building as I barged in through the doors and stomped down the familiar hallways, heading toward the main office.

"Tom!" I bellowed, marching into his office.

"Ah, Harry, you're early today!"

"I want out!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"OUT! I WANT OUT! I'M TIRED OF THIS!"

Tom merely smiled. I felt large hands take hold of my arms. Two of Tom's large goons were holding me firmly in place.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Tom said softly. "But I can't let you out of the contract. As a matter of fact, I don't think I can let you leave this building again."

**°°°Narcissa°°°**

Draco and I both jumped when my cell phone rang. It had been days since we left Hogwarts Hills. At first I took Draco to LA and we stayed in a nice hotel. Then I realized that they would think to look for us in nice hotels, so we left again and ended up in a cheap and disgusting motel in the middle of nowhere. Draco had spent a good part of ten minutes staring at the bathroom we shared in horror. Yes, my son is spoiled.

I picked up my cell and looked at the caller ID. It was Sirius. Without thinking, I answered it.

"Cissa, you really are an idiot!" came my cousin's voice.

"Hello to you too, Sirius," I replied.

"They can _track _cell phones!" Sirius elaborated. I was struck speechless. Of course! How could I have been so stupid as to not leave mine and Draco's cell phones at home? Ignoring my silence, my cousin continued: "But that's not why I called! I called to tell you that he took Harry."

"Who did?" I asked.

"Tom."

"Oh my."

"They won't let Harry go and they won't let us in. They've got their men watching Remus and I. I probably shouldn't even be talking to you…"

And that was when the connection broke.

**°°°Ginny°°°**

First Draco, then Harry. The halls of school were filled with whispers. Everyone's eyes turned to us: their friends. We knew nothing about Draco and Harry's whereabouts, which caused all of us to become greatly disappointed in ourselves. For the first couple of days after Harry's disappearance we were mostly silent, scolding ourselves in our heads over being too caught up in our own worlds to really figure out what was going on with our two friends.

I seemed to have stepped outside of my body. It was as though I was watching my own life, vaguely aware that I was living it. I was happy when Fred and George tied for prom king, but I got angry with them later in the week when they continued to wear their crowns at school. The fact that they were acting so happy frustrated me. And then I felt ashamed of myself when I realized that they were just as worried as the rest of us; they were just trying to make others feel better.

Ron, Hermione, Noelle and I often sat together in silence. Occasionally one of us would mention how we should have paid closer attention to the boys, or taken Harry more seriously when he said he suspected Lucius was after him (though we weren't sure if Lucius was involved with his disappearance or not). Noelle and Ron seemed more angry with themselves than Hermione and me. Ron because he was closest to Harry and Noelle because she was closest with Draco. Both had confessed that Harry and Draco had been close to telling them at one point, and both were upset that they didn't pressure them to.

One day, I was on my way to the bathroom when I passed Ron in the hallway. I pass at least one of my brothers in the school's hallway everyday, so it shouldn't have been shocking. But it was. Mainly because he should have been in class, and because he was actually sitting in the hallway. At Harry's locker, no less. The locker was open and all of Harry's stuff was tumbling out of it. Ron was currently flipping through one of Harry's notebooks, page by page.

"I'm fairly sure that that's against the rules," I said, stopping by my brother.

He jumped slightly at my voice, clearly thinking that he had been caught by someone important. He relaxed once he realized that it was just me and continued to flip through Harry's notebook. "I can't just do nothing," he explained somberly.

"I understand," I said, sidestepping Ron to continue my way to the bathroom. I was nearly there when Ron called out my name. "Hmm?" I asked, turning around.

"Come here and look at this," Ron ordered.

Ignoring my full bladder, I walked back to Ron and bent over slightly to read what he thought was so interesting. At first I only saw bio notes on the chambers of the heart, but then I saw scribbling in the margins. Some of it was in Harry's handwriting and the rest was in someone else's.

"Draco's," Ron explained as if he were reading my mind. I read it.

_'I hate that place, Potter.'_

_'And I just love it to pieces.'_

I was struck speechless once I finished reading. My mouth was dry and I felt dizzy.

"I wish I knew what place they're talking about," Ron said angrily, throwing the open notebook down and running his hands through his hair.

"I think I know where it is," I said hoarsely.

Ron looked up at me, his eyes wide. "That one place?" he asked.

"Yes, that one place," I replied. A small part in the back of my brain was glad at the fact that my brothers and I could understand one another even when we're being very vague.

"There you are! Honestly, Ron, you can't go on thirty minute bathroom breaks!" Hermione had sneaked up on us. She had her hands on her hips and a confused look on her face when she saw Harry's locker open and the contents of it spilling out. "What are you doing?" she asked at last.

Ron got to his feet and began walking toward the doors determinedly. I followed on his heels and Hermione raced to keep up with us. "What's going on?" she asked me.

"We found where Harry is," I said in a rush.

Hermione's eyes widened and a fervor I hadn't seen in her for the past couple of weeks appeared. She began walking with the same, determined gait that Ron and I were using. "Where is he?" she asked.

We had reached the doors and Ron suddenly turned around and glared at us sternly. "You two are staying here," he ordered.

Hermione and I both blinked in surprise before taking on identical glares of determination, crossing our arms over our chests.

"You don't know where it is," I pointed out to Ron. "And I'm not going to tell you, so you have no choice but to take me with you."

Ron's face darkened. "Dammit, Ginny!" he exclaimed. He knew me well enough to know that I wouldn't back down, so he grabbed my hand and opened the door, turning around to address Hermione. "You're staying, then!"

Hermione merely laughed and followed us. Ron did nothing. He knew her too well too. It took me a moment to realize that Ron was leading us to the student parking lot. I wondered vaguely what he was planning on doing and was answered when he got into Old Betsy. I followed suit, getting into the front seat as Hermione climbed into the back. Ron bent over and hotwired the car. I smirked.

"You are the twin's brother," I told him. He gave me a half smile before turning his head to pull out of the parking space.

**°°°Harry°°°**

"Do it, Harry."

"I…I can't."

I winced when the hulking man next to me punched my arm, most likely leaving a bruise. I opened my eyes and sent a pleading look to Tom. "Don't make me do it," I begged.

"Do it or else we're locking you in the room again," Tom commanded.

I looked down at my victim, breathing deeply. It shouldn't be this hard. I mean, hunters shoot little bunnies all the time, right? But for some reason, I couldn't do it. The trapped bunny was quivering in fright, gazing up at me with it's big eyes, asking me not to hurt it. I raised the gun.

"Sir, I couldn't stop them!"

I looked up from my victim, as five people entered the room. One was one of Tom's servants. The others were Sirius, Remus, Narcissa, and Draco. I dropped my gun in relief at seeing familiar faces. Draco came up to me and looked down at the shivering bunny. His eyes widened in shock.

"What were they making you do?" he asked me.

"Draco, you've returned to me," Tom said happily, spreading his arms in a type of greeting gesture. "Now maybe you're father will do the same."

"What?" Draco asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Your dad left without a trace shortly after you did," I explained to him softly.

"Like father, like son," Tom chuckled. Draco looked as though he might be sick.

Sirius and Remus marched forward, grabbed Draco and I by our wrists, and began to forcefully drag us to the door.

"They're leaving," Sirius shouted.

"No they're not," Tom replied.

The two older men pushed Draco and I out of the room and tried to close the door behind us, but we fought against them.

"Aren't you coming with us?" I asked Sirius in a frantic whisper.

"We'll be along in a minute," Sirius whispered back. "We're going to try to hold them off."

"No, we're not leaving you guys," I said, a bit louder.

I saw Tom sigh over Sirius' shoulder.

"I'm growing tired of this," the old man announced wearily. He turned to one of his men. "Kill them all, including the boys. You were all right; they're no good."

With a gigantic heave, Sirius and Remus managed to push Draco and I away from the door. They used enough force to have us stumble backwards and hit a wall. They then quickly shut the door and we heard a resounded 'click' as they locked it. Draco and I rushed to the door and began to pound our fists on it, ordering the adults to let us back in, but no one answered.

"They're down here! Faster! We finally get to kill them!"

We froze in fear as we heard the voices drawing closer to us. With one last look at the door, we took off, running down the hall, barely aware of where we were going. We rounded a corner and continued to run down a hall. When we reached the end of it, we looked to our left and saw men running in our direction. We back tracked only to stop short when we heard voices coming from that direction too. We were trapped in the hallway, breathing deeply and trying not to wet ourselves. And then a door behind us opened and numerous arms reached out of the dark room and pulled us in.

I tried to scream but a hand was clamped firmly over my mouth. I realized that we were standing in a dark closet and that there were several people in there, seeing as I constantly bumped into bodies. It was dark and I couldn't see anything. My mind went into a panic. My eyes shot around my sockets, willing themselves to adjust to the darkness, but they didn't. And then I smelt it. Clean cotton and baked goods. It was the Weasley smell. I recognized the rough hand over my mouth as Ron's.

"Are you done acting like a maniac?" he whispered next to me once he realized that I had stopped squirming. I nodded and he released me. We all stood in that cramped closet for what seemed like an eternity as we listened to the frantic hustle and bustle around us. I was vaguely shocked that not one of Tom's henchmen, with all their training, thought to look inside the closet.

The minutes ticked on and the yelling outside our safe haven cumulated to a point where we were all hugging each other, sure that our time was up and that they would open the door at any moment and find us. They didn't, however, and as the time passed, the yelling died away and a new scent drifted into our closet: smoke.

Hermione cracked the door open a bit and we all poked our head out. We saw massive flames coming from one end of the hallway. How the fire had started, none of us knew. We just knew that we had to get out of there.

It's funny. Draco and I were so clumsy in our training, yet when our lives were actually in danger, our brains sort of shut off and our bodies acted without us. Draco, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and I all managed to gracefully dodge the flames and falling debris as we quickly descended the stairs, our arms over our mouths and noses and our heads bent as to not breathe in the smoky air.

We somehow got outside and were shocked to find a mass of cop cars and sirens in the distance told us that the fire trucks were on their way. Noelle rushed to us.

"When you guys didn't show up in class, I went looking for you and found the notebook at Harry's locker. I went straight to the police," she explained to our shocked faces.

Hermione and Ginny hugged Noelle briefly before stepping aside to let Draco slump into her arms. My mind was slowly beginning to register that I was free. That I no longer had to deal with the nightmare anymore. I turned around and smiled at the flaming building. And then it hit me. I turned around in a furry and addressed the nearest cop.

"Did two men and a women come out yet? The men tall, one dark haired and the other with sandy hair? The woman blonde? All of them in their late thirties?"

The cop stared at me blankly. "No," he replied at last.

I uttered an obscenity and turned back to the burning building. "Sirius! Remus!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "Sirius!"

"Mom!" Draco yelled beside me, catching on.

"What's going on here?" a firefighter asked. We explained to him that there were three people trapped into the building and he took off with a horde of other firefighters into the building. It seemed like an eternity when it was actually only a half an hour. I saw some firefighters carry out a body and I rushed forward, only to be disappointed to see that it was Tom. The good news was that he was dead, and according to a firefighter he died not from the fire, but from a bullet wound. Several of them in fact.

The minutes ticked on but no more bodies were pulled out. Finally, a firefighter came up to me. "We searched everywhere and couldn't find them," he said sadly. "The building's about to collapse; I have to call my men out."

I nodded sadly. Once the building did collapse, I merely stared at it. I fell to my knees and just stared at it. I didn't feel a thing. I didn't realize that there were people around me. I don't know how long I sat there, but it was getting dark when I felt comforting arms around me.

"Come on, Harry, dear. Let's get you home." It was Mrs. Weasley. She was kneeling beside me. I turned to her, the tears finally welling up in my eyes.

"I couldn't save them," I choked. "I couldn't…"

I broke down then, crying on her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around me and smoothed down my hair, just as she had done to Ron and Ginny and the others when they were young and upset.

"I know, dear, I know. Shh," she comforted, rocking me back and forth slightly as if I was a small child. She let me soak her shirt with my tears and she didn't even mind when my nose started to run. She just held me. Like a mother.

**End Author's Note:** I used Seamus' POV for the very first time in this fic! I hope everyone liked this chapter! -considers the ending- Well, I hope everyone liked the chapter up to the ending. I'm actually really proud of how this turned out. I think I tied things in very well, and I still managed to keep the humor even though most of the main characters are sad. The story's not over yet, so don't fret. I'm thinking one more chapter and maybe an epilogue. I'll decide on the epilogue by what you guys say in your reviews. I can't remember what else I wanted to say here.


	25. Everything Will Be Alright

**Hogwarts High**

_By Siriusly Amused_

**Author's Note:** I really liked the last chapter. I don't know if you guys did because I posted it late last night and I can't get online today because my mom is expecting some furniture company to call about a mattress. I'm writing this in Times New Roman. This is the first chapter of any of my fics that I'm using Times New Roman for. I don't typically use this font because, well, I have to use it for ALL of my school papers. And after those two research papers I had to write last semester, you really can't blame me. If any of you stopped by my live journal, you'll have an idea of how many papers I write for school. Anywho, this is the _last _chapter of Hogwarts High I. I'm just trying to wrap my mind around that. I still haven't decided on whether or not I want an epilogue. I'm like that, you know. Well, enough with my babbling, you all want to read.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Harry Potter characters because the wonderful JK Rowling does.

Chapter Twenty Five

_Everything Will Be Alright_

**°°°Harry°°°**

"Um, Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"You'll have to go to school today. We have finals."

I rolled over and glared at Ron who was standing over the bed, sending me a worried look. The morning sun was filling the room and reflecting off of Ron's hair, making it seem more orange than red. I hated the sun. How dare the sun shine when I was feeling so miserable! I rolled back over and told Ron that I didn't care about my damn finals.

"Yeah, I don't care either," he said after a moment's pause. I heard his footsteps and was surprised when he pulled the sheets off of the bed, leaving me vulnerable to the chilly morning air. I curled up in a ball but kept my eyes firmly shut as I tried to ignore Ron's chipper conversation. When I still refused to get out of bed, Ron made a strangled, angry sound and proceeded by lifting up his own mattress and sending me to the floor. Before I could even mutter an obscenity, he threw some school clothes at me and walked out of his room, saying that if I wasn't at breakfast in ten minutes, he'd be back with Fred and George in tow.

I shouldn't have been giving Ron such a hard time. After Mrs. Weasley got me back to their house that night, Ron had offered his room to me and he went to sleep on the couch. He's been there for a week, bunking with Ginny who slept on the other end of their massive couch. She had given Draco her own room.

I stayed in Ron's room all week, leaving only to go to the bathroom and occasionally eat. The problem was that I'd always feel hungry until I actually got the food, so I ate very little. I was left alone for the most part until the weekend when Ron and Hermione had taken to coming into the room and reading aloud from their text books. I guess they figured I wouldn't study even if they forced me too, so they decided to just read everything in the hopes that something might sink in.

I sat glumly on the floor and stared at the clothes that Ron had thrown at me while I listened to the voices coming from the kitchen. I recognized one pompous voice as Draco's.

"Ginny, you may have your room back," he said loudly. "Your bed is very comfy but I grow bored in your girly room. There's only so many times I can look into your underwear drawer!"

I heard a loud 'twang' as though Ginny had just hit the cocky blonde with a frying pan. I smiled despite myself and got up to shower for the first time in a week (yes, I was quite smelly).

**°°°Draco°°°**

I was sitting at the breakfast table and rubbing the growing bump on my head (courtesy of Ginny and a frying pan) when Potter entered the room and sat down. Ron thumped his back, Ginny hugged him briefly, and Mrs. Weasley put no less than ten sausages onto his plate. Potter's eyes flickered toward me for a moment. He seemed grumpy. Obviously, finals would put anyone in a grumpy mood, but he seemed to have more animosity toward me than normal. He didn't say anything, though. Just picked up his fork and started eating.

"Thank you for showering, Harry," Weasel the first said from across the table.

"Yes, I was afraid I'd vomit this breakfast up if I had to smell you again," Weasel the second added.

Ron threw his toast at the twins in Harry's defense. The identical duo blinked in surprise for a moment before flinging eggs at Ron with their forks. Ron retaliated with his bacon, causing Ginny to go into a fit of nagging.

"Stop it, you three! I will not have food in my hair during finals!"

"Stop sounding like Mom, Ginny!"

"I do NOT sound like Mom!"

"Yes you do."

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

"That's it, I'm walking to school!" And with that, the feisty red-head stood from the table, grabbed her bag from the counter and headed toward the door. Much to everyone's surprise, Harry rose from the table as well, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"I'll walk with you, Ginny," he said. It was the first pleasant thing he said all week. The rest of us gaped at him. My eyes quickly went from him to the three Weasley brothers, their fight over their younger sister from earlier this year in mind. For a moment, Ron looked like he was going to explode from shock, but his wide mouth slowly melted into a sly grin.

"You two crazy kids have fun," he said jokingly as he returned his attention back to his breakfast. Harry smirked at him as he held the back door open for Ginny. I returned my gaze back the Weasley boys. "Can I drive today?" I asked Weasel the first. He replied by throwing a glob of eggs at me.

**°°°Ginny°°°**

Harry and I were quiet on our way to school. He understandably didn't feel much like talking after the incident and I was just happy to have him out of bed and showered that I didn't feel the need to talk. Though I could tell that the huge cloud of depression was still hovering over him, he seemed to be trying to be happy.

He playfully splashed me when we passed the town fountain. He kept walking with a silly smirk on his face while I shrieked in shock as the water trickled down my neck. Once my shock wore off, I cupped my hands in the water, ran to catch up with Harry and let the water run down the back of his neck. It trickled down his shirt and he jumped from the chill of it before turning around to give me an odd sort of smile.

I laughed and reached out to pinch his cheek, but his hand found mine before it reached his face. He directed my hand away, leading it downward where he laced his fingers with mine briefly as we crossed the street and entered the school yard. As soon as our feet hit the grassy lot in front of our school, his light grasp on my hand left as he took off toward the front doors. He turned his head and gave me the slightest of smiles before disappearing in the sea of students.

I tried to ignore the fact that I was finding it difficult to breathe.

**°°°Hermione°°°**

I walked into Hogwarts High on the last day of school feeling miserable. I found Ron and the others sitting in the library, getting last minute studying in for our last exams. Ron was the first to look up. It was a mere glance, just to see who had come in. He lowered his gaze back to his book after giving me a brief, welcoming smile. A moment later, his head snapped up again; he realized that I was depressed.

"What's up?" he whispered as I sat across the table from him. Harry, Draco, Ginny, and Noelle all looked up from their studying as well, each one sending me identical, inquisitive stares.

I kept my eyes on Noelle, mainly because I knew that if I looked at any of the others, I would burst into tears. "I'm leaving tonight," I said, my voice a hoarse whisper.

They all stared at me, their eyes wide and disbelieving. I was fairly certain that they had all forgotten my impending departure in light of recent events. I didn't blame them. I had nearly forgotten about it too. Draco was the first one to respond. He threw down his pen, stood up and marched over to me, yanking me up roughly and pulling me into a very brief hug. I had barely registered what had happened when Draco returned to his chair and continued studying.

Noelle squeezed my hand comfortingly when I sat down again. Harry, who was sitting next to me, wrapped his arms around me and buried his head into my shoulder. Ron and Ginny, however, still seemed to be frozen in disbelief. Their faces were completely devoid of color and the spark that usually shined brightly behind their eyes was gone.

"Ron, I…" I began but he merely closed his mouth and returned to gazing into his book.

**°°°Draco°°°**

Returning to the Weasley house after my last exam of sophomore year was liberating. I felt as if I was freed from a very large burden. After throwing my schoolbag into the darkest closet I could find, I plopped down upon the couch, intending to watch some TV; however, I was interrupted by Ginny entering the room and sitting next to me. I was about to ask her what was on when she erupted into tears.

"Er…" I stammered, unsure of what to do or say.

"She's leaving," Ginny wailed next to me, crying profusely into her hands.

I patted her back awkwardly and tried comforting her but had very little luck with it. Let's face it, I'm not a comforting kind of guy. Potter entered the living room and I cocked my head toward Ginny.

"You! Take care of her," I ordered, rising from the couch. Harry sent me a slight glare but went to Ginny none-the-less.

Not wanting to stay in the living room, I migrated to the kitchen to find Ron staring listlessly out of the window.

"Hey," I greeted, opening the fridge and leaning over to look for food. After a minute of rummaging (and not finding anything that looked tasty) I straightened and closed the fridge. Ron continued to stare out of the window sadly. I stood in front of him.

"You know what I don't get?" I asked conversationally.

Ron's eyes looked at me inquisitively.

"I don't get why you're not chasing after her." And with that, I left the kitchen. A minute later, I heard the back door slam.

**°°°Ron°°°**

My legs felt as though they were on fire. Who would have known Draco to give good advice? Once his suggestion had sunk into my brain, I took off, stealing Old Betsy from the twins and speeding to the airport. Once there, I began running, hoping to make it to her terminal before the flight took off. I had a matter of minutes.

"Hermione!" I yelled once I saw her and her parents giving the flight attendant their tickets. She turned around and stared at me in confusion as I pushed people out of the way to get to her. I knew that the airport's security guards would be after me soon seeing as most of the people I pushed out of the way were grumpy and cursing at me.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something as I drew closer to her, but I engulfed her in a hug before she could say anything. I held her close to me, burying my head in her hair. I held her so tightly that I wouldn't have been surprised if I bruised a rib. But I didn't care. She hugged me back just as enthusiastically.

People darted around us in their hurried gait as they tried to reach whatever destination they were heading to. They passed us in a blur. To us, time stood still and for a moment there was only Hermione and me, standing in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the world.

And then we pulled away. She looked up at me, tears streaming down her cheeks and all I could do was bring a hand up to wipe them away. Her parents came up behind her and took her shoulders gently, guiding her toward the terminal and away from my life. And I stood there and let her go.

**°°°Harry°°°**

Ron and I sprawled out on our backs and gazed up at the stars. It was late at night after the last day of school. The rest of the Weasley family (and Draco) were fast asleep, but Ron and I couldn't nod off. So we climbed up to the roof and just laid there. Neither of us talked. We were both deep in thought. I continually blamed myself for not staying with Sirius and the others and Ron…well, I don't know what he was thinking about but I'm pretty sure it concerned Hermione.

I think we were both surprised once the sun came up. Neither of us had slept. Ron sat up and looked at me a little after dawn. He had a sly smirk on his face.

"What?" I asked. It was the first thing I had said all night.

"Fred and George are graduating today," he replied. We both laughed.

**°°°Mrs. Weasley°°°**

"I've said it once, I've said it three times," my husband complained in a frustrated whisper as he fanned himself with a paper program, "this gym needs air conditioning! How our kids can have PE in here everyday is beyond me!"

"Arthur, shush!" I commanded, waving my husband off. "It's nearly their turn."

"Who the hell would have thought that Fred and George would be graduating on time?" Charlie stated, amused, on the other side of Arthur.

"I know," chimed in Ron, who sat on the other side of me. "I thought they were on the five year plan, myself."

I turned and smiled at my youngest son. He was hurting over Hermione's departure. Ginny too. They were both bordering depression, but neither were going down without a fight. They were both trying to look on the bright side and I loved them for it. Harry, Draco, and Noelle sat with us too. All of them equipped with a camera, ready to snap pictures of the twins when they receive their diplomas.

My gaze shifted back to Fred and George standing in line with the rest of their classmates. My heart was bursting with pride to see them in their red graduation gowns--even though they were both absentmindedly chewing upon their tassels.

"Frederick Topher Weasley."

The entire family cheered as Fred's name was called and he ambled onto the stage to accept his diploma from Dumbledore. He was shaking the principal's hand when they called George's name.

"George Lukas Weasley."

George walked upon the stage and took his diploma before running into Fred, who had stopped short, staring at the piece of paper in his hand in disbelief.

"Wait, wait, wait," Fred stated at once, turning around and addressing Dumbledore. "What's this?" Fred brandished his diploma in front of Dumbledore.

"Why, it's your diploma, young Weasley," Dumbledore stated brightly. "You're graduating!"

This caused George to turn around in shock. "Graduating?" George exclaimed loudly. By this time, the entire gym was silent. My other sons were leaning their elbows on their knees, watching the scene before them interestedly.

"Yes," Dumbledore beamed.

"Graduating!" George yelled again as Fred bristled next to him.

"You can't graduate us!" Fred yelled, raising his diploma and throwing it down dramatically.

"WE QUIT!" George echoed, following suit with his diploma.

There was a shocked silence as both twins marched off the stage, taking their graduation robes and hats off as they did so and loosening the ties around their necks.

**°°°Ron°°°**

Draco, Harry, and I chased the twins out of the gym as they stalked off.

"Brilliant!" I complimented, thumping Fred on the back. "Absolutely brilliant! You know, I was wondering why you guys were going along with this graduating business. Did you plan this?"

"Since the first day of freshman year," Fred replied happily.

Draco was hunched over with laughter and even Harry was smiling. Behind us, the graduation ceremony continued. We were about to head out to Ern's Pizza to celebrate when we heard an angered yell and Mom stalked out of the gym.

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU TWO!"

The twins both emitted frightened 'eeps' before grabbing my shoulder and exclaiming, "Come on, let's get out of here!". The five of us ran as fast as we could. We zigzagged between parked cars until we reached Old Betsy. Harry, Draco and I crammed into the backseat as the twins jumped into the front. We nearly hit Mom as we tore out of the parking lot. Looking out the back window, I saw that she was livid. I turned back around and smiled at the twins.

"She is so going to strangle you in your sleep tonight," I told them. They only beamed with pride.

**°°°Harry°°°**

Hogwarts Hills was in an uproar. Children, teenagers, and college students alike all filled the streets, celebrating the end of the school year and the beginning of summer vacation. The twins were the highlight of it all. We were stalked down like celebrities, everyone wanting to hear the story of how they 'quit' high school over and over again. We returned to the Weasley house around midnight to change out of our dress clothes into something more comfortable; however, we never got the chance to change.

Two cops cars were pulled onto the Weasley drive. Fearing the worse, we parked Old Betsy on the street and rushed out, the twins in the lead. We were almost to the door when Mrs. Weasley and two official looking men walked out. The men were carrying what appeared to be duffle bags that Draco and I noticed as ours.

"This is ridiculous!" Mrs. Weasley roared, flailing her arms dangerously. "Why on Earth can't we adopt them? And don't you dare say because we have no basement!"

"What's going on?" Draco asked dubiously once we reached the angry mother and two men.

"Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter, I presume?" one of the men asked. Draco and I nodded. The men flipped badges at us quickly before explaining that they were from Child Services.

"We're here to take you to your new home," the other man explained.

"What?" Ron asked angrily.

Mrs. Weasley's head snapped toward us, her face livid. "Don't you listen to these awful men, you two. You're not going anywhere!"

But it turned out that we were going somewhere. Due to the Weasley's house not meeting certain requirements, Draco and I were not permitted to live with them. Mrs. Weasley could rant all she wanted, but the only way to get around it was if the Weasleys went to court over us. The process would cost them a lot of money and they could end up spending months in court. So Draco and I had no choice but to get into one of the cop cars.

We stared out of the back window as the car drove away. The Weasley house, lit up and radiating warmth, and the numerous Weasleys all grew smaller as the car sped off into the night. I saw the silhouette of Mrs. Weasley flailing her appendages dangerously in her rage. Mr. Weasley paced nervously. The six Weasley brothers were all milling around, I don't think any of them knew what to say or do. And Ginny stood alone. Completely black against the light of the house. Her dress and hair whipped around her with the wind. My breath caught in my throat when I saw her dark figure raise a hand in a form of goodbye. I waved goodbye as well, even though I knew that they couldn't see me. I was too far away…

_Fin_

* * *

**End Author's Note: **Did I ever warn you guys that you probably won't like the ending to this? I think I did, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I'm sorry if any of you are upset at the moment, but don't fret, there'll be an epilogue and a sequel. As for Fred and George's middle names…Topher just popped into my head when I thought of Fred and Mariah suggested Lukas. We didn't realize that we named him George Lukas (or Lucas) until a few minutes later. If any of you know their proper middle names, please tell me and I shall change it. Ok, everyone get ready for a big ass AN. I'm going to ramble in here like I've never rambled before! Muahahaha!

**The Beginnings of Hogwarts High:**

"_All right, dear. Welcome to Hogwarts High! Can I have your name please?"_

"_Granger. Hermione Granger."_

"_Ooo, good, an unusual name! You'll fit right in here!"_

_an excerpt from Hogwarts High version 1.0_

I started writing 'Hogwarts High' in January or February of 2002. I was a fifteen-year-old sophomore who had just started expressing myself through writing. I can't remember if something had inspired me to write it or if it was just some crazy idea that popped into my head. I think it was the latter. I think I just sat down at my desk on night, took out a notebook (that was already halfway filled with different stories) and a pen (a black one to be exact), the paused and stared at a blank page as I though of what I wanted to write. I don't know how the idea popped into my head, but several hours and two pages (front and back) later, I had the beginning of what turned out to be a brilliant brain fart. Oddly enough, my 15-year-old self thought it was crap, closed the notebook, and went to bed.

The days turned to weeks and the weeks into months, and by summer I had all but forgotten about the little brain fart in the purple notebook, until I stumbled upon it in either July or August. I was 16 then and had been posting my writing online for months. I agreed with my younger self that that particular draft of the story was crap. It was in 3rd person from Hermione's POV. She had just moved from Maine (why Maine, I dunno) to southern California and she was furious with her parents over it. So furious in fact that 'she had no intention of talking to her parents until she was 18'.

The story continues to follow Hermione as she arrives outside of Hogwarts High on her first day of school and finds herself amongst a sea of students. Moments later she has a run in with Punk!Draco. Yes, it was crap, but the idea of a non-magical Hogwarts had its merits, so I voiced it to M to see if it was actually a good idea for a story or if I was mental. I believe that we agreed that I was, indeed, mental, but it was also a very good idea and that I should start plotting (because the first draft had no plot). So I did.

I kept the trio as sophomores for numerous reasons, the biggest one being that if they were sophomores, Ginny would be a freshman, and the twins would be seniors, thus making them all attend Hogwarts High. I made out their class schedules so that I knew who would be where at what point of day. I also thought about what the school and town would be like. And then I started 'Hogwarts High version 2.0'.

This one was in 1st person and started out in Hermione's POV again as she searched for a spot to sit on the bus on her first day of school. She had just moved to Hogwarts Hills from -gasps- Colorado! I blame M and her love of Colorado for my constant use of the state. Anywho, version 2.0 was short. Hermione met Ginny on the bus and Ginny told her all about the Weasley brothers, warning her that she'll probably have Ron in some of her classes. Then the POV went to Ron who was having problems with his locker. Harry teased Ron about his locker and Ron threw some smelly gym socks (that had been sitting in his locker all summer) at Harry. And that was it. I guess I didn't like this version because I later sat down and started 'Hogwarts High version 3.0'. It took me months to complete the first chapter and when I finished, I posted it on not knowing just how big of a response I would get from it. Yes, HH 3.0 is this story right here. Why I decided to have them all grow up together (no Hermione being the new girl) I don't know, but I'm glad I did.

It was plotted from the beginning of ver 3.0 that Tom would come into Harry's life. Actually, I had planned on bringing that subplot in sooner, but I was afraid it would change the happy-go-lucky tone of the story, which is why I only hinted at some evil lurking somewhere for the majority of the story.

As for splitting up the Trio (yes, they are split up…Ron's at Hogwarts Hills, Hermione's in Colorado, and Harry's being taken to a home that's far away from Hogwarts Hills! They're split up, deal with it!), I didn't think of the splitting up idea until around chapter 14. Originally, I had planned for them to beat Tom and Lucius and the others and live happily ever after…but then I decided that I wanted sequels so I needed to do something to keep it interesting. So I split up the Trio. Can the Trio survive without one another? I guess we'll just have to see…

So that's the history of Hogwarts High. Boring isn't it? I think I promised that I wouldn't post the last chapter until I had the epilogue and first chapter of HHII written, but I'm impatient. The epilogue won't take long to write, so that'll be up within a week.

And this is where I thank all of my lovely reviewers! It's all because of you guys that this story is finished. Believe me, if you hadn't reviewed, HH would have stopped somewhere around chapter 14. And it's a good thing it didn't because I think the chapters after 14 are some of my best! I hope you have all enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it! And if you're upset over this ending, don't worry. I have plans for the next two installments. Oh so many plans. -grins evilly-


	26. Paint it Black

**Hogwarts High**

_By Siriusly Amused_

_Epilogue_

_Paint it Black_

**°°°Andromeda°°°**

I felt like I was in high school again. It was so surreal that I half expected to see teased hair and bright bangles when I looked over the officer's shoulder and into the large mirror over the living room fireplace. But my hair was still in the sensible bob and my jewelry remained unpretentious. I was forty-years-old and still covering for my younger and slightly irresponsible family members.

"We searched the building many times of course," the officer continued somberly, his hat held in his hands in respect. "We couldn't find the bodies of your sisters and cousin. Nor the body of their friend, Remus Lupin. Are you familiar with Mr. Lupin?"

I nodded. "We were old friends in high school."

"Oh. I see." The officer paused and looked down upon the floor, considering his wording carefully. "You're quite certain that you haven't been in contact with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Narcissa Malfoy, or Bellatrix Lestrange?"

I raised my chin defiantly. "I haven't talked to Bella since high school. Narcissa and I had a brief meeting five years ago but haven't been in contact since. I talked to both Sirius and Remus seven months ago. I haven't heard from either since."

The officer nodded again, keeping his gaze on the floor. "Mrs. Tonks, we have reason to believe that they're all alive. If any of them contact you, we would appreciate it if you'd let us know."

I raised an eyebrow skeptically. There was something off about this officer. Something vaguely familiar about him, though I couldn't put my finger on it. All I knew was that I didn't trust him.

"Narcissa has a son, and if I'm not mistaken Sirius and Remus had gained custody of the son of some late friends. Where are the boys?" I asked.

The officer feigned an apologetic look. "They've both been taken into the system."

I winced slightly. The system isn't a pretty place for teenagers to live and adoption at their age is nearly impossible.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the officer apologized, noticing my hurt look over the boys' whereabouts. "I'm sure if you went to the courts…" he trailed off.

"You think they're alive?" I interrupted.

"Yes. We haven't found any of their bodies, and there were several sets of tracks that led to the ocean. We believe very much that they're alive."

I shook my head. "That doesn't make any sense. They have children. I can see Narcissa leaving her son, maybe, but Sirius and Remus would never leave Harry to be taken into the system! If they survived, why would they disappear?" I eyed the officer suspiciously. He shifted his weight. "There's something you're not telling me," I accused.

"Mrs. Tonks, your cousin Bellatrix…"

"I don't give a damn about Bellatrix, what about the others?"

The officer sighed. "We know for a fact that Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, and Mrs. Malfoy were all armed when they entered the building. We actually found a gun that had Mr. Black's fingerprints on it. Ma'am, a man was shot to death before the fire. We have reason to believe that your sister, cousin, and friend were the ones that killed him. Three bullets were extracted during the autopsy, each from a different gun."

There was a long silence where I glared at the officer and he continued to shift his weight.

"So if they contact you…" the officer stated, placing his cap back on his head and walking toward the door.

"Yes," I replied, smiling politely. "If I see them, I'll let you know."

"Thank you ma'am."

I closed the door and leaned against it, my brain processing my thoughts rapidly. Yes, it was just like high school. Sirius and Narcissa (and Remus this time too, which is unusual) did something stupid, and now they're laying low and I needed to pick up the pieces.

Glancing at the clock, I grabbed a flashlight and packed some food in my purse. Leaving the house through the backdoor (incase the cops were watching the house) I entered the wooded area around my house and continued walking until it was nearly nightfall. And then I found it. Musty and rickety, the noble and most ancient house of Black still stood--and there was a light flickering within.

Smirking slightly, I ascended the steps to the porch and barged through the front door melodramatically. Three figures looked up, startled. My smirk grew.

"After all these years, I'm still babysitting you," I stated sarcastically.

The man nearest me matched my smirk exactly. "There's my favorite cousin!" he said, rising to his feet.

The woman across the room snapped her head up and glared. "Hey," she threatened the man. She was obviously perturbed over the 'favorite cousin' remark. My smile grew.

**End Author's Note: **-a dark sky filled with billowing clouds and flickering lighting appears as numerous owls fly around- Hogwarts High II comes…soon… -maniacal laughter of the author can be heard-


End file.
